


Sometimes You've Gotta Fall Before You Can Fly

by thunderingskies



Series: What lies inside my heart is off the motherfuckin' meter [1]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Angst and Feels, Developing Friendships, Friends to Lovers, Humor, Implied/Referenced Domestic Violence, M/M, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-31
Updated: 2016-07-24
Packaged: 2018-07-11 06:43:21
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 52,090
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7034125
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thunderingskies/pseuds/thunderingskies
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Terushima Yuuji is a menace.</p><p>He parties too much. He drinks too much. He gets into fights.</p><p>Or, at least, that’s what everyone tells Daichi when he asks around to find out who he is.</p><p>That's why when Daichi gets his partner assignment at the beginning of his business class and he unfolds the piece of paper that reads “TERUSHIMA YUUJI”, he’s not really looking forward to meeting this guy. He’s certain that he’s going to be useless – one who barely goes to class, if at all – and that means Daichi is going to have to complete this whole thing by himself.</p><p>So why is it that when he finally meets this enigma, he's nothing like what Daichi expects?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Assignment

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Frenchibi](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Frenchibi/gifts).



Terushima Yuuji is a menace.

He parties too much.

He got kicked out of student housing for hosting a killer rager last year.

He drinks too much.

He’s ended up in the drunk tank at the police station more times than he can count on both hands.

He gets into fights.

He split open a guy’s lip just last month who was apparently getting into his face.

Or, at least, that’s what everyone tells Daichi when he asks around to find out who he is.

So when Daichi gets his partner assignment at the beginning of his business class and he unfolds the piece of paper that reads “TERUSHIMA YUUJI”, he’s not really looking forward to meeting this guy. He’s certain that he’s going to be useless – one who barely goes to class, if at all – and that means Daichi is going to have to complete this whole thing by himself.

So he spends the rest of the class texting his best friend, Koushi, whining about the situation.

 **Koushi:** what’s so bad abt this guy? u haven’t met him yet right?

 **Daichi:** no but apparently he’s bad news

 **Daichi:** yuu told me he was bad, _yuu_ and his best friend is ryuu

 **Daichi:** so I think that tells you everything that you need to know

 **Koushi:** where do u get these sayings?

 **Koushi:** next you’ll tell me he’s a bad egg

 **Koushi** : people love to talk shit & u know that. give him a chance.

 **Daichi:** do I have to?

 **Koushi:** yea, this project is a year-long thing right?

 **Daichi:** yup

 **Koushi:** well then I think it’d definitely be better this way than doing it alone

Daichi relents, sighing and putting away his phone. He decides to pay attention to the lecture, scribbling down notes. It’s mostly just further explanation of the assignment since it’s worth 60% of their grade. The other 40% is apparently going to be composed of a midterm on the theory and then participation. That part is actually kind of nice – he likes the fact they won’t get graded homework every day or have a lot of little assignments that will take up his time. This he can deal with.

Well, Daichi decides, even if this guy is useless, he can probably come up with something for this project on his own. It doesn’t seem _too_ hard. He looks at his messy notes that he can just barely comprehend, contemplating what the professor meant when he said-

“Hey.”

Daichi looks up to an unfamiliar face, but as soon as their eyes lock he somehow knows who this guy is. Daichi would have to be blind or stupid to not admit how hot he is – his hair is mostly blonde, and spiked up at the top. The bottom half of his hair is shaved close to his head and is a very dark brown in colour, and the contrast looks great with his skin tone. It’s clear he’s an athletic person as Daichi can see the strength in his biceps. He’s pale, with sharp golden eyes, a devilish smirk and piercings. Daichi notices right away the hoops and studs in his ears.  He’s got a wild look and even wilder eyes; it’s just as interesting as it is off-putting. Daichi nods in greeting.

“Are you Terushima Yuuji?” He asks, even though he already knows the answer.

“The one and only.” He looks down to his piece of paper before squinting. “And that must make you… Sawamura Daichi?” He tries, looking back up at Daichi.

“That’s me. Just call me Daichi.”

“Okay, Daichi. You call me Yuuji then.” Hearing his name coming from Yuuji’s lips is strangely enticing. He finds that he likes the way he pronounces it, with more intonation on the ‘ai’ than he is used to hearing.

They don’t talk a lot – not that first day. They just exchange numbers, discuss when would be a good time to meet up and then go their separate ways.

“Well, that wasn’t so bad,” Daichi laments as he walks back to his apartment after school that day. It wasn’t like they really talked, but the fact that Yuuji even shows up to class was a point in his favor. He figures that it won’t be too bad, meeting up with him a few times during the month to work on this project.

* * *

“Wow,” Daichi mumbles as he picks up Yuuji’s notebook. He’s seriously impressed – not only is his handwriting beautiful, his notebook is extremely well-organized and even colour-coded. He flips through a few of the pages, eyes wide as he scans through the contents.

They’re meeting up for the first time outside of class to discuss their assignment and exchange ideas. Daichi is, in all honesty, very impressed with how easy Yuuji is to talk to. He willingly shuffles around a few things to make sure that they have an entire evening to go through their materials, is quick to respond to text messages and even arrives early and in full-studying gear. He lets Daichi pick the location – his favourite internet café with free Wi-Fi and comfortable booths to sit at.

Daichi looks up, taking in the sight of Yuuji who looks crisp. He’s wearing a pair of well-worn white Nike’s that have probably seen one too many outdoor sports games ( _Basketball?_ Daichi wonders _, he looks like a basketball kind of guy)_ , a pair of grey sweatpants with their university emblem along the leg that are a bit too big for him and an orange hoodie with a logo on the front that Daichi doesn’t recognize.

“Did I get something wrong?” Yuuji asks, tilting his head to the side in confusion. He glances at the page Daichi has stopped on, where he has written a breakdown of the assignment. His fingers skim along the edges of the page, eyes quickly scanning through the contents, but he doesn’t see anything out of place.

“No, no. I guess I just didn’t expect you to be so… thorough.”

Yuuji laughs, but it’s kind of hollow, like he was expecting this but he’s still a bit disappointed. “Yeah, well, if I don’t keep up my average I lose out on my scholarship. Kinda need that.”

Daichi opens his mouth to respond but thankfully is spared when the waitress pops up. A cute young girl, with short blonde hair with a little pin holding her bangs back. She looks nervous, side-glancing at Yuuji, but he doesn’t appear to notice (or care). Daichi checks out her name tag – YACHI with a flower sticker beside it – before she finally works up the courage to speak.

“Hello and welcome to Magi’s! C-Can I take your order?” She pulls a pen and a pad of paper out of her apron, clicking the pen open.

Daichi looks to Yuuji who is still glancing at the menu and gives her his order. “Yeah, a French vanilla cappuccino and a turkey sandwich, please. No mayo.”

She nods, jotting it down slowly. She must be new, but Yuuji doesn’t seem to be bothered by her lack of speed as he patiently waits his turn. She still looks a little terrified talking to him, but he orders anyway. “Vanilla iced coffee for me. Grilled cheese sandwich with fries.” He looks up to Daichi’s stern face and tacks on an “Uh, please.”

The waitress leaves and Yuuji puts down the menu, shoulders hunching as he relaxes. Daichi looks at him curiously but it doesn’t seem like he’s about to explain, so he just puts his partner’s notebook on the table, turned sideways so that they can both see it.

Yuuji points to his notebook where he has very clearly laid out the different project requirements, all boxed into different sections. “So did you have any specific ideas for our business? We can do whatever we want, as long as we meet the requirements. And we could fit pretty much anything to it.” He pulls out his phone from his pocket, dropping it face-down on the table before grabbing a set of pens from his bag. They’re felt-tip pens in a variety of colours. “Before I came to find you I heard a few people talking about what they were doing, just to give you an idea. One guy said he has a 3D printer and is gonna make book ends and stuff, a girl was talking about making jewelry and another dude said he’d be selling pasta sauce, I guess, so it really seems like we can do anything.”

Daichi nods, and although he doesn’t say anything, he’s fairly surprised that Yuuji has already put this much work and thought into their project.  They have only received their assignments two days ago and he already knows more about the project than Daichi.

“I’m not sure, honestly.”

“Do you have any hidden talents you’re not sharing?” Yuuji laughs easily. “I don’t know, bake a real mean lemon tart or something?”

“Actually, I am pretty good in the kitchen.”

“Oh yeah? What do you make?” Yuuji asks, twirling one of his pens between his fingers.

“Lots of stuff, I guess, but what I’m best at is muffins.”

“We can work with that,” Yuuji comments, flipping to a new page. He picks up his blue pen and begins to jot down some ideas. “What kind?”

“Banana, apple oatmeal, chocolate chip, blueberry… usually one of those, but I can pretty much put anything in them.”

“I think we’re on to something here, Daichi.”

Daichi laughs, nodding, as he throws in some ideas here and there. Yuuji organizes them effortlessly and they flip back to the assignment outline to make sure that it all matches up. Without a doubt it does, as Yuuji seems to be pretty confident at that.

Their pens go down as their food finally arrives and Daichi’s stomach growls.

“Thank you,” Daichi says to their waitress, and after a kick to the ankle Yuuji thanks her too.

“Geez, you’re so stern, Dai.” Yuuji dumps vinegar onto his fries, sprinkling on some extra salt for good measure.

“Vinegar?”

“Yeah! You never tried it?”

“No,” Daichi says warily. He keeps getting little whiffs here and there of the condiment and it smells sour.

“Come on, just try one.”

“I think I’m good,” Daichi replies while scrunching up his nose.

“I promise it’s really good! Just one. Trust me! I am a french fry _King_. I know my fries, I know exactly what kind of fries need what topping and these crisp ones need vinegar.”

“I barely know you.”

“Yeah,” Yuuji shrugs, “Well, I have a totally trusting face. Right?”

Daichi just sighs, “I don’t know about that.”

Yuuji almost looks disappointed.

“But… fine. Pass it over.”

Yuuji grins, pushing his plate of French fries over. Extremely tentatively Daichi picks up one of them, examining it closely before shrugging his shoulders. “What the hell,” he says, popping it into his mouth.

“Oh my gosh, Daichi swore! We need to alert the media!”

“Shut up, idiot.”

“So? Did you like it?” Yuuji asks, his entire face lit up. How is Daichi supposed to lie to that?

“It’s good,” he admits, reaching out to steal another. He sneaks one off his plate before Yuuji notices and pulls his plate back.

“Hey! I said one!”

Daichi snickers, popping the fry in his mouth. “Hmm, I must have missed that part.”

“You sneak,” Yuuji chuckles. “You look so sweet and then you come along and steal my fries.”

“Sweet?”

“Oh, yeah. Got that whole ‘guy next door’ vibe to you.” Yuuji nods his head, picking up half of his sandwich and taking a big bite. It’s cheesy, with a few slices of bacon inside and Yuuji has to lick his fingers to get off some cheese that escaped.

“I don’t know whether to be pleased or offended.”

“Neither, really. It’s just a fact.” Yuuji finishes the first half of his sandwich with a grin, switching back to his fries for a while.

They eat in relative silence, stealing glances and jabbing remarks at one another. It’s fun, Daichi finds, in an unexpected way. He had expected to feel annoyed at this guy for being a drag on his assignment, a deadweight, but that is exactly the opposite of what Yuuji is. So he has to wonder about where he’s getting his reputation from.

Was he really a big aggressive fighter and just really good at hiding it?

 _Doesn’t matter_ , Daichi decides, since they’re just partners anyway. He can clearly handle some work and that is all that he needs out of him. He finishes his food quietly, accepting the last few fries he’s offered by Yuuji. He reaches for the ketchup before pausing and wondering if that’s against his French fry rules. Yuuji nods slowly.

“Ketchup is okay, but depends on the crispness of the fry. Since these are the last few they’ve lost that and now it’s okay to use ketchup on them.”

Daichi nods, getting some ketchup on the plate and eating a fry from it. “So what’s the ruling on gravy?”

“It’s best in tandem with cheese curds or shredded cheese,” Yuuji replies seriously. “But it matches up well with a thicker, less crisp fry.”

“Oh yeah?” Daichi chuckles, but Yuuji doesn’t hear his joking tone as he continues.

“Yeah, because the gravy obviously will cause the fries to soften up. But the gravy does have to be good. Any kind is fine – chicken, mushroom, beef… wait. You’re fucking with me.”

“Oh no, no. I’m getting an education here and I didn’t even have to pay for it.”

Yuuji eyes him warily, “I take it back. You’re not ‘the guy next door’, you’re a little shit.”

“What, you can dish it out but you can’t take it?”

“Oh, I can. Just be prepared.” Yuuji chuckles and Daichi flushes. Thankfully he’s saved from replying when the savior waitress appears again, whisking away their plates and asking if they want dessert. Yuuji waves his hand, apparently not huge on sweets and Daichi himself feels quite full.

They get back to their work, Yuuji picking his pen back up and they jot down ideas. How to market their product – as it turns out the blonde has an uncle who owns a café they might be able to agree to serve them – what to charge, how to advertise it. Unsurprisingly he is very active on social media and can tap in there, and Daichi has some friends who work at their local radio station.

It’s starting to all take shape.

By his fourth or so glass of water, Daichi looks down at his watch to realize it’s almost nine o’clock. They’ve been working for hours but it didn’t even feel that tiring. He also realizes that he hasn’t touched his phone even once; it’s stayed secure in his backpack, probably vibrating from random messages and calls but he can’t be bothered to check. Yuuji’s phone also has been completely untouched, still face-down on the table.

“So you’re good with this?” Yuuji asks, gesturing to his notebook. They’ve gotten a good chunk of the planning for their assignment done now, just a few little things to work on. Daichi has to figure out the recipes for sure, Yuuji has to make some sort of deal with the devil (what he affectionately calls his uncle) but it’s a good step forward, and a lot more than they actually have to have done by their next class with the check-in they have to do with the T.A.

“Yeah, it sounds good to me.”

“Cool.” Yuuji checks his watch, “Shit, it’s pretty late. I should let you go.”

“No problem.” Daichi offers him a smile, “You need a ride?”

“Nah, I’m not far.” Yuuji packs up his things, dropping his notebook into his backpack. “Should we meet up next week, then? After we’ve both finished with our next steps?”

Daichi laughs because he’s talking just like the professor, even using the lingo and everything. “Yeah, that sounds good.”

“Do you work?”

“Yeah, just part-time. The world’s most boring job; I answer phones for a cab company and communicate the addresses to the taxi drivers.”

“Ah, you work lots of nights then?”

The dark-haired man nods, “Yup. Of course the biggest crowd is from ten p.m. to three a.m. It does provide a good opportunity to do my homework.”

“That’s cool. I work too, in a bookstore. The one on Elm, _Murder Ink_.”

“A bookstore? Really?”

“What?”

“I don’t know; it just doesn’t seem to suit you. Seems too… quiet.”

Yuuji snorts. “I will have you know that I am extremely well-read.”

“Right. Manga or trashy romance novels?”

“Both!” Yuuji grins, “My favourites are historical novels, though. I also can’t deny the appeal of a good murder mystery.”

“Really…” Daichi shakes his head. “You’re a puzzle, Yuuji.”

“An enigma wrapped in a mystery, I know.” He laughs and stands, swinging his bag over his shoulder. “Send me a text and we’ll figure out a time to meet, alright?”

“Sure,” Daichi responds. “Talk to you later, Yuuji.”

The blonde offers him a brilliant smile. “Yup, see ya, Daichi!” He heads for the door, walking off down the sidewalk and disappearing out of sight.

 _Well,_ Daichi decides as he, too, gets up to leave. _That wasn’t so bad._

He seemed to be alright, so Daichi had to wonder why nearly everyone that he asked about him had assured him he was some sort of delinquent. He ignored those thoughts, heading out and towards his car. It didn’t really matter, and since he hardly knew the guy he wasn’t very invested in unravelling his mysteries.

Daichi drives back home, tapping his fingers on the steering wheel to the tune of some catchy pop song on the radio. His apartment isn't that far, but it is just far enough away that walking to school would take way too much time in the morning, so he drives. Usually he drives himself and his best friend and roommate, Koushi.

Stepping into his apartment, Daichi drops his bag by the door with a contented sigh. He’s not very hungry and that’s a good thing due to his lack of cooking skills. Thankfully, he has a roommate who doesn’t mind cooking in exchange for cleaning.

“Daichi!” A voice calls from the living room, one he knows to be Koushi. “How was it?”

“It was…” He pauses, trying to think of how to describe it. “It was actually fine. He takes way neater notes than I do. 

“Oh?” Koushi asks. He’s curled up on the couch, half-watching a game of basketball on the television.

“Yeah. He seems cool.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This all started from a very innocent request for some TeruDai college AU. I'm now absolutely in love with writing them and have a nice, long story planned out for these two. This will be a slow burn, and there will certainly be heavy angst in their future punctuated with a lot of humour, feels and super cute fluffy moments. I hope you enjoyed, please let me know your thoughts! ♥


	2. Dare

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Their texting starts out simply. Truly, it does. They begin by texting about the project.

Their texting starts out simply. Truly, it does. They begin by texting about the project.

 **Yuuji** : I have conversed with Satan

 **Yuuji** : It appears as though he is exactly 57% closer to allowing us to peddle our wares in his establishment

 **Daichi** : what

 **Daichi** : do u alwys txt like this?

 **Yuuji** : Text in what fashion, my good comrade?

 **Daichi** : r u drunk? what year is it?

 **Yuuji** : Whatever do you mean? No, I have not partaken of any such thing, although it would be lovely to addition to my day!

 **Yuuji** : It’s 2016, but of course!

 **Yuuji** : Wow, what are you doing, sending me a telegraph? Your messages are not very timely!

 **Daichi** : stfu

 **Daichi** : ok

 **Daichi** : that’s good. what do u think we need to do to get him to fully agree

 **Yuuji** : We need but to present him with an excellent product!

 **Yuuji** : Have you prepared the recipes?

 **Daichi** : ya

 **Daichi** : raspberry white choc, blueberry, apple oatmeal, banana and choc chip. ok?

 **Yuuji** : That sounds divine.

 **Daichi** : ok ur freaking me out

 **Yuuji** : Fine haha I’ll go back to boring

 **Yuuji** : I’ll stop by his shop after work to see when he wants us to come by and test them out.

 **Daichi** : sure

 **Daichi:** just lmk

 **Yuuji:** Will do, Dai! Live long and prosper!

Daichi snorts, putting down his phone. He shakes his head and heads out for the day, not thinking more of the weirdo text messaging him. He goes about his day – he heads to his classes, he catches lunch with his high school buddies Yuu and Ryuunosuke. He heads home to gather up his things before heading to his shift at work. He doesn’t usually take shifts on school nights – he’s mostly adjusted to the sleeping schedule, but it still gets to be hard to wake up in the morning. This Thursday though, he’s decided that it’s okay, considering he only has one class on Fridays and it isn’t until ten.

He gets to work, greets his boss and sets down to do his thing. He has his own desk, but once the drivers head out for the night it’s just him, his phone and computer. He sighs, checking his watch. It’s eleven pm and the calls start to come in. Fairly steady, but due to frequent lulls between phone calls, he has lots of time to finish his homework and dick around on his phone. He’s playing some stupid farming game that Koushi convinced him to try (which _no_ , is not totally addicting, what are you talking about) when a text message beeps in.

 _That’s weird_ , he thinks to himself, considering that it’s now after two in the morning and his friends really should be asleep now. He pops it open and looks at the text message curiously.

 **Yuuji** : [Attached Image]

 **Yuuji** : I saw this and thought of you

 **Daichi** : u just sent me a pic of a gorilla

 **Yuuji** : I know!

 **Yuuji** : It looked friendly

 **Yuuji** : You know… like you

 **Yuuji** : God you type so slow

 **Daichi:** i’m at work

 **Yuuji:** You’re welcome, then! You said it was boring, and I’m very entertaining

 **Daichi:** ur interesting that’s for sure

 **Daichi:** why r u up? it's really late

 **Yuuji:** Homework. Have to monitor this experiment for three hours before I can make my notes and then clean up. I almost completely forgot about it

 **Yuuji:** Until about two and a half hours ago.

 **Daichi:** so i'm actually your entertainment?

 **Daichi:** also, experiment? ur not a business major?

 **Yuuji:** I’m double majoring. Biology and Business. Weird combo, but, I figure between the two of them I’ve got a shot at some sort of career in something.

 **Daichi:** double major? when do u sleep?

 **Yuuji:** I’ll sleep when I’m dead

 **Yuuji** : In all seriousness, usually between 4 am and 7, and then I’ll sneak a nap in somewhere so it usually ends up being around 6 hours total

 **Yuuji:** I can’t sleep for long periods of time. I always wake up.

 **Daichi:** thats weird any idea why?

 **Yuuji:** No

 **Yuuji:** Started in high school. I don’t really know.

 **Daichi:** sounds annoying

 **Yuuji:** A little, but it lets me get a lot of homework done. So I don’t mind terribly.

 **Daichi:** good

 **Daichi:** wow seems pretty lit at the rockhouse, keep getting call after call for there

 **Yuuji:** Ah yeah that’s the club down on Main. It’s alright, way too sweaty

 **Daichi:** sweaty?

 **Yuuji:** Yeah, too many people too close together. Gets hot. Sweaty.

 **Daichi:** gross

 **Yuuji:** Exactly lol

Daichi pauses, thumbs freezing over the keyboard. His shift is almost over now, but he can’t help but want to keep texting the blonde. He also is finding that he wants to inquire, especially with those nagging thoughts at the back of his head. The things he’d heard about Yuuji really seemed so far away from this person who texted him pictures of gorillas while _doing his homework_ at two in the morning.

And so, he presses on.

 **Daichi:** so u go out a lot then?

 **Yuuji:** Nah

 **Yuuji:** In my first year, I did. Guess I was sorta… rebelling, in a way. Last year was kinda touch and go… It was a pretty dumb idea, and it got me into a lot of trouble.

 **Daichi:** ah i see

 **Yuuji:** Yeah. I had my ‘rebellious teenage’ phase a little bit later. I even got my tongue pierced on a dare.

 **Daichi:** a dare?!

 **Yuuji:** Oh yeah. My idiot of a roommate didn’t think I’d actually do it.

 **Yuuji:** I proved him wrong lol

 **Daichi:** lol wow u have guts i'll give u that

 **Yuuji:** A compliment! Thank you. I feel honoured.

 **Daichi:** don’t get a big head now

 **Yuuji:** Too late lol

 **Daichi:** ah shit. lol

 **Daichi:** u still live with the guy?

 **Yuuji:** Oh, yeah. I call him an idiot with much affection. Kou’s my best friend, even if he’s a dolt.

 **Daichi:** lol sounds like fun

 **Yuuji:** Yup, until he wakes me up at five in the morning because he’s having really intense feelings about Grey’s Anatomy

 **Daichi:** ur kidding

 **Yuuji:** I wish. Especially when he gets drunk and thinks he’s got the skills to perform surgery

 **Daichi:** no!

 **Yuuji:** Yeah, I still have the scars from where he tried to stitch up a cut on my chest lol

 **Daichi:** u lead an interesting life yuuji

 **Yuuji:** I’ll take what I can get from you, Daichi.

 **Daichi** : my shift’s over, heading home now. try and get some sleep.

 **Yuuji:** Okay, mom. Drive safe.

 **Daichi:** cya

* * *

Daichi clicks the timer off on his stove, grabbing his oven mitts from the drawer next to the oven. He slips them on his hands, opening the oven to pull out the muffin trays. He’s got four of them in the oven – testing out his four flavours. It’s the first time he’s made so many, and in such a large batch. He plans to bring some with him to school to test on his friends, and to give to Yuuji when they head to their business class.

He drops them on a cooling tray, breathing in to smell the delicious baked goods. He wants to try one but has definitely learned his lesson about eating his baked goods before they cooled.

His phone beeps and Daichi grabs it, since he has to wait anyway. It’s not a text message, but a SnapChat notification. He stares at it before opening – he only has a handful of people added on there (Koushi, Shimizu, Tooru and Yuu, along with a few others who don’t really use it) but it’s a new notification.

He stares at it hard: Yuuji has added you.

Cautiously, he accepts, and checks out the picture that has been sent to him.

It’s a shot of Yuuji at the school, sitting beside a guy who doesn’t look familiar. He’s very muscular, with spiked up hair that’s dyed in shades of silver and white. His eyes are closed and his arms crossed; it’s clear that he’s sleeping in the shot. His face is covered with permanent marker with ridiculous drawings, topped off with a nice fancy mustache.

Yuuji is giving a peace sign to the camera, a huge grin plastered on his face. The text reads _I made modern art!_ with a thumbs-up emoji.

Daichi laughs, going to close to app before reconsidering. He takes a quick picture of the muffins cooling and sends it back to him with the text _The wares are ready_.

He gets all the muffins packed up before Yuuji sends him a reply. The picture is a selfie of him with his mouth open, looking shocked yet extremely pleased. He’s giving him a thumbs up and the text reads _I hope I get a taste??_

Instead of sending another picture, Daichi responds with a text.

 **Daichi:** i’ll bring some to class for u to try

 **Yuuji:** You’re a saint!

The last text is punctuated with a blowing kiss emoji, which Daichi rolls his eyes and plays it off. He doesn’t answer, instead grabbing his things and heading to school.

In his first class, Daichi joins his friend Shimizu and gives her a taste of his muffins. She tells him what he already knows (they’re delicious) and asks him about his partner (since when is she so observant? Oh, yeah. _Always_.) Asahi joins them as well and just blushes awkwardly when Shimizu tries to find out more about who he’s working with, but Daichi doesn’t say much. If Yuu and Ryuu know about his weird reputation, maybe they do too, and he doesn’t need a lecture.

His second class has him listening way too intently to the professor who marks like a mad woman. Tooru sits beside him and chats his _ear_ off. Daichi wants to be mad because how is it he can always pass with so much ease, but it’s cute how Tooru always talks about his boyfriend. He and Hajime had danced around each other forever, so he is actually quite happy for him. Not that he will ever say that out loud.

Finally, it’s time for his third and last class of the day, one where he’ll get to see Yuuji and finally get him to try these damn muffins that are burning a hole in his pocket. As he heads out Tooru gives him a wave but then freezes. “Dai-chan, you have that look.”

“That look?” Daichi asks, almost not sure if he wants to hear the answer to this one.

“Yeah. That one. Oh… it’s more fun if you figure it out on your owl. Toodles!” He laughs, sauntering away. Daichi can see Hajime waiting for him in the distance, and as soon as they meet their fingers lace together.

Daichi looks away, feeling like he’s intruded on some personal moment for some reason. He heads off to his class with his thoughts all jumbled together. He doesn’t even hear someone calling his name.

“Dai!”

“Daichi!”

“DAIchi!”

“Yo, Daichi!”

 _Finally_ he looks up, and sees Yuuji sitting at one of the tables. The blonde looks at him quizzically, playing with his tongue ring between his teeth.

“Oh. Hey,” Daichi says easily, dropping into the seat next to him. He pulls out his things, getting ready for the class.

Yuuji just watches him.

He watches him very carefully.

Until, “so, did you bring them?”

Daichi looks at him almost innocently. “Bring what?”

“Come _on_ , Dai! You’re killin’ me, smalls!”

His tone of voice makes the brunet laugh, but he digs into his backpack anyway for a tupperware container. There’s only a few muffins left, ever since Yuu caught up with him and stole a handful, but he’s saved a few of each for Yuuji.

“Thank you!” He grins, grabbing one and digging into it immediately. He devours it in the span of about twenty-five seconds, licking his fingers. “That was awesome. 10/10 would recommend.”

Daichi laughs, opening his mouth to reply but the professor chooses that moment to start his lecture.

They sit, side by side, Yuuji occasionally leaning over to offer some scathing remark about the professor which Daichi has to try really really hard to not laugh at.

He only succeeds about half of the time.

When they’re finally dismissed Yuuji puts the rest of the muffins into his bag. “I’ve got to go to work, but I’ll drop these to my uncle on the way. Text me later? I’ll let you know when he gets back to me.”

“Sure,” Daichi nods, getting his things ready too. He’s a little disappointed, he was hoping to get to talk to him a little bit more, but he lets it slide for now. “I’ll talk to you later, Yuuji.”

The blonde offers him a bright smile as he heads off. “Later!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! Let me know what you thought. :)


	3. Dinner

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Daichi groans loudly, his head pounding. He hasn’t been able to get any sleep and it’s starting to get annoying. He had agreed to work later than usual, thinking he would be able to sleep in because it’s a Saturday. Apparently, he body disagrees. He finally stops trying to force sleep to come when his phone beeps quietly, alerting him to a text message.
> 
> He grabs his phone, squinting down at the lock screen. 6:04 am. It’s early but it doesn’t seem like he’s getting any sleep tonight anyway, so he unlocks his phone and scans the message.
> 
>  **Yuuji:** Everything in the world is either a potato, or it is not a potato.

Daichi groans loudly, his head pounding. He hasn’t been able to get any sleep and it’s starting to get annoying. He had agreed to work later than usual, thinking he would be able to sleep in because it’s a Saturday. Apparently, he body disagrees. He finally stops trying to force sleep to come when his phone beeps quietly, alerting him to a text message.

He grabs his phone, squinting down at the lock screen. 6:04 am. It’s early but it doesn’t seem like he’s getting any sleep tonight anyway, so he unlocks his phone and scans the message.

 **Yuuji:** Everything in the world is either a potato, or it is not a potato.

 **Daichi:** wtf yuuji

 **Daichi:** it’s 6 am

 **Yuuji:** Your point being? There is no wrong time for an epiphany

 **Daichi:** oh yeah, ur so deep

 **Yuuji:** Call me the Pacific brocean

 **Daichi:** why am I friends with you again?

 **Yuuji:** Ooooh I’m upgraded to friend!

 **Daichi:** don’t make me regret it

Daichi sighs, dropping his phone down next to him. Yuuji has definitely been upgraded from classmate to friend, and it’s only been a month and a half since they’ve met. They text every day now, often times multiple times; sometimes in the morning, other times in the afternoon. Neither really starts a conversation with a formal “hello”; it’s just a picture, a joke or, in Yuuji’s case, some sort of ‘deep’ quote.

Something Daichi has recently learned about the blonde is that he loves inspirational quotes.

Earlier in the week, he might have accidentally stumbled upon Yuuji’s Twitter. He may of may not have spent the following hour and a half stalking him on it and reading his many random tweets. Every single day he would post some sort of inspirational, motivational quote to (in his words) ‘get himself hyped up’.

His most retweeted post went as follows: Nothing worth having come easy.

Daichi definitely did not chuckle he read that one because _damn_ if it isn’t true. And he also isn’t smiling as he thinks about it in bed. He huffs, rolling over, wondering who he pissed off in a past life to be constantly attracting these whirlwind friends. It takes enough energy to deal with Yuu, Ryuu and Tooru – now he’s gone and added Yuuji to the mix. Daichi just _really_ hopes that he will never meet Tetsurou, one of his friends from high school, because he’s really sure that his sanity can’t handle it. Tetsurou, while a great friend, is a handful and he’s pretty sure those two would either become partners in crime or bitter enemies. It can be hard to tell with those things.

His phone beeps and he drops it on his face trying to unlock it in a frenzy. Annoyed now, he grumbles as he reads the response.

 **Yuuji:** I won’t. With great power comes great responsibility.

 **Daichi:** do you always talk in pop culture quotes?

 **Yuuji:** My dialogue is 50% pop culture, 20% song lyrics and 30% anime quotes

 **Daichi:** how did I know you were an anime nerd?

 **Yuuji:** All the best people are!

 **Daichi:** you have a naruto headband don’t you

 **Yuuji:** No

 **Yuuji:** ANBU mask

 **Daichi:** lol nice

 **Yuuji:** Gotta be true to myself… that’s my ninja way

 **Daichi:** you didn’t

 **Yuuji:** Oh, but I did. Still want to be friends?

 **Daichi:** I never go back on my word… that’s my ninja way

 **Yuuji:** DID WE JUST BECOME BEST FRIENDS?!

Daichi laughs, and it’s easy, being this way. He flips over, propping himself up in his elbows while he ponders a reply. He gets a glance out the window – it looks dreary outside, like it might storm, but mother nature hasn’t made up her mind quite yet.

 **Daichi:** seems like it, yup

 **Yuuji:** Well that escalated quickly.

 **Yuuji:** Classmate to friend to best friend all in the span of twenty minutes! That must be some sort of record

 **Daichi:** I’m sure there’s a Guinness World Record for that

 **Yuuji:** Eh, too lazy to check, I’m way too comfy in bed right now.

 **Daichi:** why are you even awake? It’s saturday

 **Yuuji:** Just woke up! Couldn’t get back to sleep, wondered if Dadchi was awake

 **Daichi:** no

 **Yuuji:** Yes

 **Daichi:** no

 **Yuuji:** Fine, Daichi.

 **Yuuji:** Why are you awake?

 **Daichi:** worked way later than usual and haven’t been able to get to sleep

 **Yuuji:** Do you need me to sing you a lullaby?

 **Daichi:** fuck off

 **Yuuji:** Okay, a story then.

 **Daichi:** ugh

 **Yuuji:** Once upon a time there was a prince named Daichi. He was not always sweet and liked to steal people’s French fries, but he had some friends anyway. One day he and his really cool knight Yuuji decided to go on an adventure.

 **Yuuji:** They decided to head into a forest where lots of monsters lived. They were evil and strong but they had to protect Daichi’s kingdom. Long story short, Daichi almost died but Yuuji heroically pushed him out of the way at the last second, but he was stabbed through the heart and died instantly.

 **Yuuji:** It was the last monster so the village was safe but Daichi was forever haunted by what happened and who he could not save. He had nightmares about his friend right up until the day he died in his sleep from a panic-induced heart attack.

 **Yuuji:** Hm, that was darker than I intended, but whatever. Looks like it worked.

 **Yuuji:** Text me later if you still want to meet up this afternoon!

 **Yuuji:** Good night Daichi. Don’t let the bed bugs bite!

Yuuji is right – Daichi is long passed out, all curled up on his bed. He sleeps, content and soundly, until about six hours later. He stretches and blinks awake with a smile on his face. He feels well-rested and it’s such a _nice_ feeling, albeit unfamiliar. He checks his phone right away but shakes his head at the ridiculous story that Yuuji has sent him. He only remembers reading the first text message, so it really did the job.

He shakes himself out of bed with a longs stretch, heading to the shower. The apartment is quiet – that tells him that Koushi isn’t here. He’s not particularly loud, but when he can even hear the hum of the refrigerator, he knows that nobody is here. No breathing, shuffling, television or even typing on a laptop. He pads over to his bathroom, stripping off his pyjamas. He starts the shower as he stares into the mirror.

He doesn’t have a whole lot to get done today. One short assignment for his least favourite class, which he wants to get out of the way as quickly as possible. He needs to contact Shimizu at some point about a project they’re working on and he is hoping that his co-worker Keiji will trade shifts with him next week because he _needs_ to study for a test Thursday.

Instead of tackling any of that, though, he chooses to plug in his phone to the speakers he keeps in the bathroom and forget about everything for twenty minutes while he showers. He closes his eyes, scrubbing every inch of his body as thoroughly as he can in an attempt to squeeze out a little bit more shower time. They don’t pay separately for their water bill (it’s included in the rent) so he really doesn’t care about how much time he spends in there.

When his hands are starting to prune he finally gets out, dries off and gets dressed. He isn’t going anywhere so he doesn’t care that he’s wearing an old sweatshirt with a volleyball on it and sweatpants.

Daichi is about to go and tackle the kitchen to see what he can eat when his phone beeps.

 **Yuuji:** Rise and shine! Can’t have you sleeping the entire day away, Princess.

 **Daichi:** I’m awake

 **Yuuji:** Wonderful! Sleep well?

 **Daichi:** yeah I did, thanks.

 **Daichi:** still wanna meet up today?

 **Yuuji:** Yes, if that works for you. I have to be at work until three.

 **Daichi:** where do u wanna meet?

 **Yuuji:** I don’t care. My place is out; my roommate is trying to make homemade chocolate for his boyfriend

 **Yuuji:** I don’t want to see how that plays out.

 **Daichi:** hes not a good cook, I take it?

 **Yuuji:** He burns everything. He burnt instant ramen noodles! Who even does that? You just put in hot water and the cup does all the work!

 **Daichi:** homemade chocolate seems a bit of a leap for him…

 **Yuuji:** It is, so please help me procrastinate going home as long as possible.

 **Daichi:** lol well we can use my place. my roommate probably wont be home, but if he is he won’t care. he's quiet.

 **Yuuji:** Cool, sounds good. Just text me the address.

 **Yuuji:** Also – my uncle liked your muffins. I’ll give you all the details later. My boss is supposed to be here in 15 minutes so I want to look busy when she arrives.

 **Daichi:** probably a wise idea

 **Yuuji:** I’m a model employee! And the customers love me  <3

 **Daichi:** do they really?

 **Yuuji:** Oh yeah. I have regulars that come in and ask for me.

 **Yuuji:** Including the old ladies reading club that meets on Thursdays!

 **Daichi:** old ladies reading club?

 **Yuuji:** Well, I don’t think that’s actually what they call themselves, but they’re old ladies… and they read… so it works for me.

 **Daichi** : right, whatever. just don’t get lost, im not coming out to find your ass

 **Yuuji:** I’m touched for your concern for my ass. Don’t worry; see you then!

The rest of the day, fortunately, flies by. Daichi gets lost in the sea that is Netflix for a little while, testing out a few episodes of some series he hasn’t watched yet. He takes a brief nap, does some reading and is genuinely surprised when his phone rings.

Who actually calls on the phone? Everyone nowadays just sends texts-

“Hello?” Daichi asks, since he doesn’t have caller ID. College calls for some desperate money-saving measures, like his incredibly basic cell phone plan.

“Dai!” The energetic voice on the other end laughs, and Daichi recognizes it as Yuuji. “I’m just leaving work now, I’m almost there.”

“Okay,” Daichi replies, sitting up on the couch. He stretches out his arms before focusing back on the voice in his ear. “That sounds good. I’ll get everything ready.”

“Okay. I need some coffee if I’m going to make it through the day; you want anything?”

“Yeah, that’d be nice. With cream and sugar.”

“Roger that.”

“How was work?” The brunet asks after a moment of silence when he realizes that Yuuji isn’t hanging up.

“Nice, actually. It wasn’t too slow, but the customers were good. I can’t complain.”

“You’ll have to recommend me some books sometime.”

“You read?”

“Well yeah,” he laughs, “doesn’t everyone?”

“I mean… for fun.” Yuuji is laughing into the phone, slightly muffled. “What sort of books do you like?”

“Science fiction, mostly. Some fantasy but nothing too romantic.”

“Aww, no vampire or werewolf love stories?”

“God, no. There’s also _way_ too many ‘we’re the last few humans so we have to fall in love’ apocalyptic novels, too. I’d like to read something with a unique plot.”

“Okay, okay.” He hears some shuffling through the phone and Yuuji saying a far-away ‘thank you’, which was probably to the barista. “Unique. Good plot. No werewolves, vampires or romantic apocalypses. I think I can manage that.”

“I’ll be waiting with bated breath”

Yuuji laughs, and it’s so easy and sweet. “Alright. Well, I’m almost there now – or, well here – whatever. I’ll see you in a few.”

“Bye,” Daichi interjects before he hangs up.

It’s not even five minutes before Yuuji shows up. He just gets enough time to grab a glass of water, set up his laptop and notebook on the table and put out some snacks. Yuuji knocks loudly.

“Come in!”

The door swings open and Yuuji walks in, carrying a tray with their drinks and a backpack over one shoulder. He’s got on a long-sleeved gray t-shirt and a pair of dark blue jeans. His sleeves are rolled up to the elbow and Daichi gets a look at a tattoo framing his forearm, but he can’t quite make out what the design is.

“Yo, Daichi!”

“Hey,” Daichi greets him, nodding his head as he walks down the hallway. “I’m set up in the kitchen.”

They settle in at the table and dive straight in to work. There’s no silly banter, no jokes. It feels like now that they’re together in person they’re classmates again, working to get their homework finished.

They discuss their plan going forward; Yuuji’s uncle has agreed to a test run for selling their muffins at his café. If they go in for an afternoon, serve tables for a few hours and manage to turn at least somewhat of a profit (In Yuuji’s words “if people like ‘em enough to buy ‘em and then we’ve got some good shit going on”) he will allow them to continue bringing them in for two months, which is the requirement for their class. The café is one that Daichi has heard of but hasn’t visited very often due to it’s proximity to the school. It’s on the other side of town, away from the college, but a lot closer to the local high schools.

They figure out how they’re going to advertise and get into a further discussion of who they should get to record their radio advertisement the college radio station has agreed to air.

“Its gotta be somebody with a real nice voice. I mean, the college radio guys are _okay_ but like I wouldn’t do anything they say, y’know?” Yuuji waves an arm, twirling his empty coffee cup in his hand.

“So if someone has a nice enough voice, you’ll do anything?”

“Well not _anything_ , but, yeah, I’d totally check out a new café if a hot voice told me to.”

“You’re so easy,” Daichi snorts.

“Am not.” Yuuji frowns playfully. “I’m just easily tempted!”

“And have little self-control. Hence the dare tongue piercing,” Daichi says, pointing to his mouth in emphasis. Yuuji twirls his tongue in response, playing with it between his teeth skillfully.

“Well, either way, it’s not gonna be me. I know where my strengths lie and that’s not it.”

“Well do we want a guy or a girl?” He’s asking the question in regards to their advertisement, sure, but this is a bigger probing question than he intended. It’s a little more personal than he should probably be getting but Yuuji answers anyway.

“Either or,” he shrugs, “doesn’t matter to me.”

Daichi nods thoughtfully, looking out the window. It’s started to rain pretty heavily, and he’s about to mention it to Yuuji-

“You could do it. You’ve got a nice voice.”

“What?” He croaks out and it comes out a lot hoarser than intended. He certainly was not expecting _that_.

“Yeah. Your voice is smooth and nice to listen to. People would listen to it.”

“Sure… okay,” the brunet responds simply to let the conversation drop. To ensure that he adds “look, it’s starting to rain outside.”

“Rain!” Yuuji groans loudly. “Damn, I didn’t even bring a coat.”

They both stare out the window for a few long moments, watching the rain drops splatter against the window. Daichi opens his mouth to speak but he’s cut off by a loud smack of thunder.

“Shit, I remember hearing on the radio it was supposed to storm pretty badly, but I didn’t expect it to start so early.” Yuuji glances at his watch then back at the window. There are serious puddles on the street and it doesn’t look like it’s getting close to stopping anytime soon. If it continues up like this, no doubt the busses will stop running for the night.

“You can just stay until the storm clears,” Daichi offers before he even realizes what he’s doing.

“Oh yeah? That’d be cool, man. Thanks.” The blonde looks relieved, and drops his phone down into his bag. “It’s almost dinner time, though. I can make you something for letting me stay.”

“You don’t have to do that,” he responds reflexively, even though the only thing that _he_ can make without fail is instant ramen noodles. At least he doesn’t burn those…

“Nah, I insist. I’m actually a pretty good cook. What do you have?”

They wander into the kitchen together, searching through cupboards, drawers, the refrigerator and freezer until Yuuji is satisfied with his ingredients. “Is your roommate coming home?” he asks before measuring out what they’ll need.

“I’m – uh – I’ll check.” His phone has been untouched for hours but once he grabs it, he sees a message from Koushi. “Oh, yeah. He’ll be back within the hour. He’s just visiting a friend down the street.

“Cool,” Yuuji responds so casually. “Alright, now you sit, let me do my thing. Spaghetti Bolognese is my _speciality_.”

So he does.

Daichi pulls up a stool to their kitchen island, leaning his elbows down on the counter top and resting his chin in his hands. He watches Yuuji – he looks so focused; intense, almost. He starts by melting some butter and heating up oil in a big frying pan while he chops up some vegetables. It’s clear he knows what he’s doing – thank god because Daichi just barely passed his first aid class and he didn’t want to have to scrub blood off the linoleum.

“So what’s your preference? Spicy, lots of garlic? Onion?”

Daichi looks up at Yuuji who is peeling some garlic. He shrugs. “I don’t know, just normal I guess? I’m not picky.” He thinks before adding, “I do like garlic though. Don’t go easy on it.”

“Roger.” He drops in the vegetables until they’re nice and warm, the onions translucent and the garlic browning. Next comes in the ground beef which he seasons and begins to break up with a large spatula. “You got any wine?”

“Wine?” He’s confused, because it’s a little early to be drinking-

“Yeah, for the sauce.” Yuuji looks up with a smirk on his face, and how did he know?

“Oh, yeah. I think so.” He’s not a huge wine drinker but it’s Koushi’s beverage of choice, so they often have some hanging around. He manages to find a bottle of white in the fridge and hands it to Yuuji. He accepts the offering, popping off the top. He sniffs it before pouring a bunch straight into the pan with the now-brown ground beef.

“How much was that?” Daichi asks as he eyes up the pan, where the wine is quickly heating up and evaporating off.

“I don’t know, a cup, give or take?” Yuuji splashes in some beef broth too, keeping up this trend of not measuring his ingredients.

“Scientific.”

“Hey, you’re the baker. That’s science. Cooking is an _art_ , which makes me an artist.” He really emphasizes that last word, and so Daichi just shrugs, dropping back into his seat.

“Sure, sure.”

He goes back to watching Yuuji, which is sort of fascinating in its own way. He sprinkles in seasoning, puts in tomatoes, cheese… Daichi isn’t really paying attention to the food, he just hopes it won’t taste like trash so that he can eat it looking as content as he feels. It’s nice to have a friend who picks up where he slacks – he could get used to food made by Yuuji, if that delicious aroma is anything to go by. Soon enough the sauce is simmering, which frees up Yuuji, so they go back to chatting for a bit.

It’s easy – he finds out Yuuji is a big science fiction fan, and that they both share the same taste in sports. He’s into basketball but volleyball too – and he still plays, even if just for fun, which makes Daichi want to play again too. They’re in the middle of discussing the potential impact of an alien species discovering Earth when Yuuji whips around. “I think the spaghetti is done.”

“What do you have a noodle sense?”

“Yeah,” he says as if it’s the most obvious thing in the world and totally not weird.  He pulls the pot off the element, pulling out a noodle with a fork. He turns, facing the wall and whips the hot noodle at it.

“What the hell!” Daichi stumbles out of his chair, watching as the limp noodle sticks to the wall.

“What? This is how you check if it’s done.” Yuuji looks pleased and he pulls the noodle off the wall. “My aunt taught me. I’m half Italian.”

“Really?”

“Yup, although I don’t see that side of my family too much cause they’re in Italy.” He strains the hot noodles, steam rising up from the sink. “It’s been… three or four years since I’ve seen them? It’s my mom’s family, and… well, I don’t get to see them much.”

“Oh, okay.” They haven’t talked about parents – Daichi has mentioned his, in passing, but he’s noticed that Yuuji is careful to change the subject quickly, and he doesn’t want to press. This friendship is not so new anymore, now that they’ve been talking for a month, but it’s still fragile.

“Mhm. Anyway… it’s almost ready.”

Daichi takes the cue to grab some bowls, cups and cutlery, setting them on the table. He pours some soda for each of them on Yuuji’s request. The blonde whisks away the bowls, coming back with steaming portions of spaghetti. “Soup’s up!”

“This is spaghetti.”

“It’s just an expression, Daichi.”

“You’re such a weirdo,” he laughs, but the smile on his face betrays his happiness. They sit and dig in. It’s not good. It’s _amazing_.

“Wow,” the brunet has to bite back a moan because he loves Italian food and rarely eats it because doing it properly is a long process that Koushi isn’t very familiar with, but this? It’s good? So very good?

“I’ll take that as a compliment.” Yuuji laughs and digs in, sprinkling some extra parmesan on top of his portion. They eat, chatting very little until the front door bursts open.

“I’m home!” Koushi calls, and Daichi yells back. “Kitchen! Dinner is ready if you’re hungry.”

The silver-haired man walks in and is _soaked_ , despite the fact that he has only walked a few blocks. “It smells _really good_ ,” he says, walking in. He stops when he sees Daichi and Yuuji.

“Hey, Koushi. This is Yuuji.” He gestures towards his companion, who offers a nod. When Daichi kicks his ankle he adds in, “Uh, hey. Nice to meet you!”

“Likewise. Thanks for making dinner.”

“How did you know it wasn’t me?!”

“Please, Daichi, it smells good and it’s not ramen noodles. We both know the extent of your cooking capabilities.”

Daichi sulks and Yuuji chuckles. Koushi disappears off to his bedroom, coming back shortly thereafter looking comfortable in some sweatpants and a big gray hoodie. He grabs some food and settles in, joining in on their conversation.

It’s surprisingly easy and light – why did Daichi think it was a bad idea for him to meet his friends again? He honestly can’t remember because Koushi and Yuuji are joking around (mostly at his expense) and the blonde is _laughing_ and it’s nice. Really nice.

The storm isn’t letting up, so Daichi does the dishes and Yuuji joins Koushi on the couch. He can’t hear what they’re talking about from the kitchen, but between scrubbing dishes he catches laughter and broken words.

“No way-“

“And then he-“

“I knew it!”

“You didn’t-“

“I said-“

“I don’t know if I-“

“I like-“

“Oh, I did-“

“Daichi!”

“Shut up, he’ll hear you!”

Of course he doesn’t but now he’s really, _really_ curious. Damn it.

Dishes finally dried and put away, he stalks back to the living room. Yuuji is sitting on the couch, his long legs stretched out in front of him with Koushi on the floor leaning against the back of the couch. They’re chuckling as Koushi shows him something on his phone but then it clicks and oh no-

“Koushi, you didn’t!”

Yuuji _explodes_ in laughter, burying his face in his hands. “He did!” He manages to choke out between laughter.

“I’m going to _kill you_!” Daichi jumps to the floor, wrestling with Koushi in an attempt to get his phone away. His roommate is laughing and not as strong so he manages to get the phone and clicks it on to see what they’re looking at and-

“You-you-you, ahh,” Yuuji tries to talk but he’s laughing way too hard. “You were so chubby! So damn _cute_!”

Daichi blushes because the photos are from middle school and yes, Daichi was seriously chunky back then. He also had his hair grown out longer which was not a flattering style for him. Couple that with the fact that everyone is extremely awkward in middle school and these pictures were _not_ what he wants Yuuji to be seeing.

“So much for best friend,” he huffs, sitting down on the couch with an indignant huff. He pockets the phone, refusing to hand it back to Koushi who is still cracking up on the floor. He’s rolled further away now, at least, out of the reach of a very-angry Daichi.

“Come on, you were so cute,” Yuuji teases, reaching out and pinching Daichi’s cheek. The brunet grunts and goes to pin him, squeezing his biceps but Yuuji fights back. He’s fit, just like Daichi, his muscles working beneath his skin as he holds on. He grins up at his ~~classmate~~ ~~project partner~~ ~~acquaintance~~ friend before relenting, Daichi proving to be just a little tougher and burlier than him and he’s pinned.

“Cute, my ass,” he huffs as he lets him go after a moment of enjoyment. “Whatever. Let’s watch a movie or something.”

“Good idea,” Koushi nods as he tosses a remote to Yuuji. He cues up the Xbox, clearly not a stranger to it as he navigates to Netflix. Without a word he clicks on Koushi’s profile, who blushes just at the immediate action.

“We usually use Daichi’s-“

“What you got saved on here, Koush?” he laughs, scanning through his recently viewed. “I _knew_ you were into K dramas!”

Koushi just blushes, burying his face in his hands and Daichi chuckles. He has no idea what Yuuji has done but it doesn’t escape Koushi’s insightfulness.  The blonde just flips over to his list, flicking through it until they finally settle into a movie. Some action comedy film that Daichi hasn’t seen yet but Koushi swears up and down that it’s a must-see.

The rain continues to beat outside them, but they can’t hear it over the movie. They all pile up on the couch, Yuuji in between Daichi and Sugawara. The silver-haired man leaves the room a few times to grab some snacks, sharing them with his roommate and friend. They laugh, Yuuji wiping away tears at some of the most humourous parts.

It’s light, and it’s easy, so when the movie lets up and the rain is still pouring outside, he doesn’t hesitate when saying “You can just spend the night.”

“Are you sure? That’s okay?” Yuuji asks, looking over to Koushi. He nods, too.

“Yeah, it’s supposed to be a really bad storm. I wont be surprised if the power goes out,” Koushi says with a yawn. “I’ll get you some blankets and stuff for the couch.’

He nods, grateful, before Koushi sets him up with pillows and a big fluffy blanket. It feels soft against his skin and Yuuji snuggles up in it almost immediately, leading to a chuckle from his new friend.

“Alright. I’m exhausted. G’night,” Koushi waves before disappearing off to get to bed. It’s not very late – ten thirty – but he’s one to always go to bed pretty early.

Yuuji expects Daichi to retire, too, but he’s determined to not do it yet. Instead he steals some of the blankets and asks “Wanna watch another movie?”

Yuuji nods. “I thought you’d never ask.”

They flip through the offerings, settling on an animated fantasy movie that Yuuji swears will change Daichi’s life. He’s not so sure about that, but he’s pretty sure that this boy who walked into his life will change him.

They settle back against the couch, their shoulders pressed together, feet up resting on the coffee table. The rain is a comforting background noise and the fresh, damp air coming in from the open window keeps them comfortable. Yuuji snuggles further under the blanket, eyes fixated on the screen.

By the end of the movie, Daichi yawns and goes to stretch. “Hey, Yuuji-“

He freezes. Yuuji is _asleep_.

The blonde is asleep, head resting back against the couch pillows, his legs terrifyingly close to resting in Daichi’s lap.

He’s asleep, and one thing that Daichi has learned about Yuuji is that he hardly sleeps. He’s always texting him randomly at any hour of the night with an ‘inspiring message’ or stupid meme. He’s asleep, chest rising and falling rhythmically, and it’s not even midnight.

“Goodnight, Yuuji,” Daichi says softly, taking the blanket to fully cover him up. He shuts off the television, leaving the light in the kitchen on just to shine a tiny bit of light into the hallway. When Yuuji wakes up, he doesn’t want him to panic being in an unfamiliar place in the dark. He closes the window, just halfway, to keep the fresh air coming in but to ensure it doesn’t get too chilly.

Daichi brushes his teeth normally, changing into his pyjamas. He’s tired but it’s in a good way. As his head hits the pillow, he looks up at the ceiling with a smile on his face. He’s comfortable and _sure_ he’s going to get a good nights sleep that night.

He drifts off as soon as he closes his eyes, and just as he predicted, he sleeps peacefully for the entire night.

And for the first time in a long time, so does Yuuji.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was so much fun to write. I hope you enjoyed reading it!


	4. Connections

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Daichi keeps his eyes open, watching as the apartment building comes into view. It’s pretty easy to spot, thank god, so he pulls into the guest parking and shuts off his car. He quickly turns off the Google Maps app before it can talk at him again, flipping open his chat with Yuuji. As far as he can tell the front door of the apartment building is locked by key so he will need him to let him in.
> 
> Daichi: i’m here, come let me in
> 
> Yuuji: Roger that!

**Daichi:** hey, sup?

**Yuuji:** Omg, Daichi is the one initiating conversation this time!

**Yuuji:** I need to mark this in my journal

**Daichi:** r u serious?

**Yuuji:** Serious as Donald Trump’s hair stylist

**Daichi:** wow

**Daichi:** that’s pretty intense

**Yuuji:** I know, I take myself quite seriously.

**Daichi:** Idk if I can handle that you know it’s a lot to handle

**Yuuji:** I know; the intimidation factor is over 9000

**Daichi:** u r such a nerd

**Yuuji:** And you love it lol. Anyways, I’m just leaving work. You?

**Daichi:** my shift got cancelled

**Daichi:** I know we r supposed to meet up Sunday

**Daichi:** but since I’m off if ur not busy, wanna meet up today instead?

**Yuuji:** Wow, you must really think I’m a loner, eh? That I won’t have any plans?

**Daichi:** well, do u?

**Yuuji:** Not exactly.

**Daichi:** exactly my point

**Yuuji:** I need to head home and shower and stuff, though, okay? Wanna come to my place in like half an hour?

**Daichi:** shower? u work at a bookstore

**Yuuji:** I slept in, didn’t get to shower before I went to work after going for a run this morning

**Daichi:** disgusting

**Yuuji:** Yeah a little I just masked it with some cologne but I think it’s really wearing off

**Daichi:** ew just go shower

**Yuuji:** Like you’ve never been sweaty and smelled like body odor

**Yuuji:** I don’t like the judgement, Daichi!

**Daichi:** hygene is important

**Yuuji:** Ah so you just want me to shower then

**Yuuji:** I see ;)

**Daichi:** ugh

**Yuuji:** Lol see you in thirty minutes! Unless you wanna show up early ;)

**Daichi:** stop with those obnoxious winking faces

**Yuuji:** ;)

**Yuuji:** ;) ;)

**Daichi:** i hate you

**Yuuji:** Nah ;)

Daichi rolls his eyes, putting his phone in the pocket. He can’t help but laugh, though – Yuuji always knows how to make him laugh with his ridiculous flirting. He’s pretty sure that it is all in jest, but nevertheless, he does enjoy it.

Despite the fact they’ve only known each other about a month and a half, Yuuji seems to be pretty sensitive to his moods. Even through just plain texting, he picks up on Daichi’s subtle changes in texting patterns. It makes him feel a little bit vulnerable, but Daichi doesn’t really mind all too much.

Stretching, Daichi gets up from his couch where he’d spent most of the morning finishing homework for his other classes and reading. He’d expected to be going in to work this afternoon, but at the last minute his boss called him to tell him that it’d been so slow and they didn’t need him. A little bit of a bonus.

The plan was to meet up on Sunday to finish the last bits of paperwork they had to complete before they could do a test-run of selling their muffins in Yuuji’s uncle’s café. Apparently their professor is big into making this project seem as realistic as possible – they have to draft up a contract, get it signed and everything. If they mess it up, that means they have to start all over again, and since they have to spend at least 30 days selling their product Daichi would really rather they get it right the first time. There is only so many months in the semester to begin with, so getting it pushed back could really put them on a harsh timeline. 

He heads into his bedroom, getting changed into something casual for the day. He picks out a simple pair of blue jeans and a gray t-shirt, slipping it over his shoulders. He doesn’t have to bring too much, but he packs his laptop, notebook and some supplies into his bag just in case.

Their professor had apparently uploaded a lot of contract examples on their course website, so they’d check them out together and figure out what they wanted to put in theirs. Daichi really doesn’t want to touch it without Yuuji, who he knows will have no trouble dissecting what they need to do in half the time it’ll take Daichi to do it.

He checks his watch – it’s been about twenty minutes since he texted Yuuji, so he’s got enough time to drive over. He slings his bag over his shoulder, grabs his keys and heads out to the door.

He’s not familiar with the street where Yuuji lives, so he pulls up Google Maps on his phone and punches in the address. He sets his phone up on his passenger seat, putting the volume all the way up so that he can hear the directions.

_“Ten minutes to destination_ ,” the automatic female voice tells him.

“Should be good timing then,” Daichi replies under his breath before realizing that he’s talking to a program. Right.

He turns on his car, the engine revs and he heads out on the road.

_“In 1.2 kilometres, make a left turn down Drewry Drive.”_

He makes the first few turns easily – but then encounters a roundabout and makes a wrong turn, getting totally turned around on a residential backroad.

“Ten minutes my ass,” Daichi grumbles as his phone whirs.

_“When safe, please make a legal U-turn.”_

“No.”

_“When safe, please make a legal U-turn.”_

“There is nowhere to _make_ a legal U-turn here!”

_“Recalculating… recalculating...”_

“Stupid fucking Google Maps… always screwing me around-“

_“In 500 metres at Elison Street, make a right turn.”_

“Better,” Daichi huffs, putting more pressure on the gas. As he approaches the intersection he flicks on his blinker, turning right down the street there.

_“In 250 metres, destination on the right.”_

Daichi keeps his eyes open, watching as the apartment building comes into view. It’s pretty easy to spot, thank god, so he pulls into the guest parking and shuts off his car. He quickly turns off the Google Maps app before it can talk at him again, flipping open his chat with Yuuji. As far as he can tell the front door of the apartment building is locked by key so he will need him to let him in.

**Daichi:** i’m here, come let me in

**Yuuji:** Roger that!

Daichi grabs his backpack, slinging it over his shoulder. He locks his car door as he heads out and swings his keys around in his hands. He heads up to the building, waiting, leaning against the railing until he hears thundering footsteps from inside.

He squints and can see Yuuji launch himself down the stairs, skidding to a stop just in front of the door. He breathes, heavily, opening the door for him.

“Daichi! Hey!” Yuuji smiles, and Daichi follows him into the apartment building. He can see that the blonde’s hair is still a little damp, sticking to the back of his neck from his shower. He must have just thrown on some clothes, because he’s just wearing some gray sweatpants and a dark orange t-shirt – no socks or shoes.

They walk up towards their apartment, Yuuji carefully stepping over a patch of dirt on the top of the stairs.

“Shit, I forgot my shoes,” he mumbles, gripping on to the railing. Daichi can’t help but laugh.

Yuuji huffs. “So rude, Daichi, laughing at my misery.”

“You bet I am.”

Yuuji laughs along with him as they head on to the third floor. “I’m here,” he says, heading down the hall. “Oh, just so you know, my roommate is home. He just got back from visiting his boyfriend early this morning, so he’s still sleeping. Probably will be for a while.”

“No problem,” Daichi nods. “So they’re long-distance?”

“Yeah. They met over last summer? I haven’t met the guy but he seems to make Kou happy, so that’s good.” He jingles his keys, stopping at one of the doors. He unlocks it and they step inside.

His apartment is a little bit bigger than Daichi’s. As they step in, he can see that it’s mostly open-concept. The kitchen is wide, opening up into the living room; there isn’t a dining room, but there’s an island that’s big enough to be a table set up just before where the kitchen ends. It’s fairly clean, which is a little bit surprising, and there’s lots of pictures and posters lining the walls. They’re both clearly into sports, pictures of volleyball, baseball and basketball. There’s a poster for some cheesy-looking action movie and one for _Game of Thrones_. It’s an interesting mix, that’s for sure.

“Want something to drink?” Yuuji asks, gesturing to the couch. Daichi takes the hint and plops down on one. It’s surprisingly very comfortable and he sinks down into it with a contented sigh.

“Yeah, sure. Whatever you have is fine.”

Yuuji nods, rummaging around in the kitchen. Daichi just gets the opportunity to set up his things before the blonde is returning with two cups in hand. He passes one to Daichi and sinks down beside him.

“Okay, so I was looking at these contracts, and, they don’t seem to be too complicated.” Yuuji opens up his laptop, flicking to the content of their course. “Just seems to be really specific and we have to cover like, absolutely everything. Even the details we think are unimportant or implied.”

Daichi nods, and just like that, they’re working. Yuuji goes through the contract and they note down everything that they need to include. Then they go through it all together, figuring out what they’re going to do and how they’re going to write it all up. Yuuji begins to draft up their first copy when one of the doors leading out from the living room opens. Yuuji doesn’t even look up, but Daichi does, and sees who must be his roommate.

He’s yawning – damn, he’s got a huge mouth – and scratching his stomach over top of a grey sleeveless shirt. He has dyed hair, dark and light shades of silver, that is messily hanging down in front of his face. He must still be in his pyjamas, unless that Hello Kitty print is something he would wear out of the house. For some reason, Daichi thinks that he probably would.

“Mornin’,” the stranger says after he finishes yawning. He pads towards the kitchen and Daichi can see that he’s wearing slippers that looked like little silver owls.

“It’s four in the afternoon, Kou,” Yuuji responds with a chuckle. He finishes the sentence he’s writing in his notebook before looking up.

“Really? I slept that late?” He yawns again before fully opening his eyes and seeing Daichi. “Oh, hey dude.”

“Hey,” Daichi says with a nod.

“This is Daichi, my partner from my business class. Daichi, this is my roommate, Bokuto Koutarou.”

Koutarou is surprisingly polite as he extends a hand to shake. “Nice to finally meet you, my guy!” Daichi nods and shakes his hand.

“Uh, likewise.”

“Dude, did you get more cream?” Koutarou heads off to the kitchen, opening up the fridge.

“Yeah, it’s in the back.”

“Anyone else want some hot chocolate?”

Yuuji throws his head back and laughs. “Man, you’re twelve, I swear.”

“Is that a no?”

“No, I want some.” Yuuji flashes Daichi a smile, “What about you?”

He nods. “Sure, I’ll have some.”

They finish up what they’re working on as Koutarou comes in with some mugs of hot chocolate, with marshmallows and everything.

“Dude, I was talking to Tetsu about Game of Thrones, and I found out he’s never seen it.”

“What?” Yuuji looks shocked at this news.

“I know, right? It’s so good! Everyone needs to see it.”

Daichi coughs quietly, looking away.

“No.” Yuuji stares at him. “No way. Daichi, _no_.”

“Yes,” he says with a nod. “I’ve never seen it.”

“Well this is unacceptable!” Koutarou jumps out of his chair, quickly scurrying over to the entertainment unit. He opens it and thumbs through their extensive collection of blu-ray discs. “We need to watch!”

Yuuji nods. “I agree. We’re almost done.” He finishes what he’s typing, a draft of their contract, and passes it to Daichi. “What do you say, Daichi?”

“To this, or the show?” He asks as he begins to scan through the document.

“Both.”

He laughs, “Well, I’ll read this and let you know. But I’m fine watching a few episodes. I don’t have to be anywhere.”

Koutarou laughs as he pops in the first disc. “A few episodes, he says… It’ll be fun, he says…”

“Kou, you’re sounding creepy again.” Yuuji snickers as he gets up to the kitchen. Daichi focuses down on the document, wanting to get through it as quickly as possible. It’d be stupid to try and deny now how much he’s enjoying hanging out with Yuuji like this; it’s easy. It’s nice.

“Okay, this looks really good,” Daichi says when he’s done reading the document. Yuuji returns with a bowl of popcorn and grins.

“Sweet! Let’s print it out and we can drop it to the prof this week. Then we can get moving to the next step, and actually get to the selling part of our business.” He drops down the popcorn as Koutarou climbs back on to the armchair, sprawling out like it was made for him. There’s a breeze coming in from the open window and he wraps himself in an owl-themed blanket to keep warm.

Yuuji disappears off with his laptop, coming back a few moments later once it’s all printed and put together. He puts it in his bag so that he doesn’t forget it before literally jumping on the couch, sprawling out on the couch. He reaches to the back of the couch where he’s got a fluffy black blanket folded – he unfolds it, offering half to Daichi.

It’s a little cold, which is totally the only reason why Daichi accepts. 100%.

The opening credits start, and Daichi can’t even deny that the premise has him hooked pretty quickly.

“Okay, wait, so which Stark kid is this again?”

“Oh my _god_ that Joffrey kid is a huge dick!”

“ _No_ they _cannot_ do that to the direwolf! It did nothing wrong!”

“So who is Jon’s mom?”

Four hours later Daichi blinks, checks his watch and laughs. “Shit, it’s eight.”

Yuuji howls with laughter. “It’s the curse of the ‘thrones, man. You sit down expecting to watch an episode-“

“then BAM!” Koutarou cuts in.

“You’re hooked, it’s three days later and you don’t know how you got there.”

Daichi laughs, untangling himself from the blankets to go to the washroom. He takes the opportunity to check his phone, noting the couple of text messages he’s completely missed.

**Koushi:** Hey, you gonna be coming back for dinner?

**Koushi:** I’m gonna guess you got distracted by your new friend ;)

**Daichi:** damnit koushi

**Koushi:** lol come on you can’t blame me. He’s hot and definitely into you.

**Daichi:** he is not

**Koushi:** Yes, he is, anyone with eyes can see that.

**Koushi:** And you didn’t answer my question. Coming back for dinner or no?

**Daichi:** idk yet. I’ll get back to you

**Koushi:** Okay

Daichi heads back into the living room, pocketing his phone. Yuuji and Koutarou seem to be deep into some discussion relating to the show, but, he hasn’t seen enough yet to really give an opinion.

“Daichi!” Koutarou sits up in his seat abruptly. “I want to order some food, you in?”

He pauses for a second to mull it over, but the decision is pretty automatic. “Yeah, that sounds cool.”

“There’s a really good chicken place down the street-“

“Oh, and that Thai place-“

“We good do Indian also-“

“Or ramen. There’s a stall not far away.”

“Anything is fine by me,” Daichi laughs. He joins Yuuji back on the couch, crossing his legs.

“Hmm how about we like, pick one out of a hat or something. Kou and I are kind of the worst at deciding things.”

Koutarou nodded, “Yeah, there was that time we didn’t eat dinner because we couldn’t decide what to have.”

“Sometimes we just sit on the Netflix main screen and scroll for like half an hour because we can’t pick.”

“Alright, alright.” Daichi rips a blank paper from Yuuji’s notebook, quickly scribbling down each of their options. He rips it up into strips, and Koutarou gets up to get him a hat to throw them all in. He then offers it to Yuuji.

“Alright, pick.”

Yuuji stares at him hard for a second – contemplating obviously more than just their dinner, but Daichi can’t figure out what. He regains his composure and reaches in, fiddling around for a bit before picking one of the papers.

“Ramen,” he announces.

“Sweet! Good choice. I’m thinking pork for mine.” Koutaoru gets up, stretching. “Should we go eat at the stall?”

“Yeah,” Daichi nods. “We’ve gotta go and pick it up anyways.”

“Kou, put some real pants on, you’re not going out in those.” Yuuji nods towards his Hello Kitty pyajamas, to which Koutarou pouts.

“But I wanna!”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“Back me up here, Daichi!” Yuuji flicks his smile towards him and all Daichi can do is nod.

“Uh, yeah. Sorry man, real pants required.”

Koutarou huffs, but he walks back to his bedroom in order to change. He emerges a few minutes later wearing a pair of black sweatpants, but the same shirt. He pulls on a bright teal sweatshirt that seems to fit his personality _perfectly_.

“Better?”

“Yup,” Yuuji nods as they head to the door. They slip into their shoes – Koutarou tries to wear a pair of sandals over his socks, which Yuuji refuses to allow – and soon enough they’re walking out of the building and down the street.

Daichi sends a quick text to Koushi to let him now that he will not, in fact, be home for dinner.

It’s still cool, so Daichi is glad he has a sweater. They make some idle small talk until they wind up at the ramen stall. It’s nice, very traditional, with about a dozen stools for customers to sit at. Only two are full so they easily slip down into three seats, glancing back towards the menu.

“This was a good decision,” Daichi decides as soon as he gets a good whiff of the smell. It smells amazing, very flavourful aromas coming from the cooking pots behind the counter.

“This was always my favourite place to eat in my first year. It’s open late, so when I was out way too late, I would come by and order a huge bowl of ramen.” Yuuji chuckles as the man behind the counter comes up, huffing.

“Don’t I know it. You practically paid my bills single-handedly.”

Yuuji laughs, “you’re hilarious. We both know you took pity on my hungry, roughed-up soul and gave me more than a few bowls for free.”

“Don’t go spreading that around,” the man grunts, but there’s a hint of a smile behind his words that shows Daichi that he’s softer than he lets on. “What can I get you?”

“Spicy seafood for me!” Yuuji smirks.

“I think I’ll go with pork.” Koutarou seems to be taking his decision very seriously, contemplating.

“Miso ramen for me please,” Daichi requests with a smile.

“Wow, manners! What are you doing hanging out with these two ruffians?” He let out a chuckle as he walks off to get started on their orders.

“So harsh!” Yuuji sticks out his tongue.

“You come here a lot, then?” Daichi asks, leaning back in his seat. He looks to his right, at Yuuji and then at Koutarou.

“Yeah. Started coming here back in my first year! It’s close to school, which was great when I was living on campus, and the food is inexpensive and filling. Plus, he took a shine to me, even when I was at my worst.” He lets out a soft chuckle, leaning on to the counter.

“I mean, we can cook now so we don’t come here as often as before, but we still try to come once every two weeks. Takeshi-san makes the best ramen, after all!” Koutarou smirks.

“-san, eh? What are you trying to butter me up for?” He snorts, pulling out three big bowls. Koutarou grins cheesily.

They talk, easily, until their food is ready. It’s steaming hot and smells so good. Daichi inhales a deep breath before taking in his first few bites of the noodles. It’s hot, but just at the right temperature to eat; the broth has given a superb flavour to the noodles and he eats them back hungrily, slurping with a grin on his face.

“Wow, this is great.”

“I know, right?” Yuuji offers him a thumbs up.

The food is good and they eat in silence, the only sounds being the slurps of soup and the occasional chatter.

They finish and Yuuji leans back, sighing contentedly. “Oh, and Daichi? My uncle said we can come by the weekend after next, if that works for you.”

Daichi pulls out his phone, flipping through his calendar to two weeks from now. “Saturday or Sunday?”

“Either.”

“Okay, well that weekend I’m actually free both days, so that works.”

“Awesome. I’ll text him and we can go from there. We should probably meet up once before that, just to go over everything.”

“Sure. I’m free Wednesday?”

“I might work; I haven’t gotten my schedule for the week yet. We can text and figure it out tomorrow when I get it.”

Daichi nods, and they head back to Yuuji and Koutarou’s apartment. It’s almost nine now, which signals to him that he should be getting home. So he heads towards the parking lot, turning back to Yuuji.

“I’ll talk to you soon, Yuuji.”

Yuuji smirks. “Promise! See ya, Daichi.”

Neither knew at the time that Yuuji wouldn't be able to keep that promise.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry /hides
> 
> Although including Bokuto was fun because he's great and I love him! Let me know your thoughts; thanks! ♥


	5. Indecision

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yuuji was supposed to text him _three days ago_ to let him know his schedule for the week, and he hasn’t texted him even once.
> 
> Now, Daichi wouldn’t really worry about most people if they did this. He’ll just chalk it up to them being bad texters, considering that many of his friends often liked to read his messages, put their phones down and forget to reply.
> 
> But Yuuji is different.
> 
> He usually sends him texts every single day – multiple times a day, in fact.
> 
> So three days with no message?
> 
> It is a little bit concerning.

Daichi stares down at his phone, a frown clear on his face.

He’s been looking at the same message for the past three days.

 **Daichi:** [Attached Image]

 **Daichi:** lol, no witty retort this time?

 **Daichi:** Yuuji? Everything okay?

 **Daichi** : ?

Yuuji was supposed to text him _three days ago_ to let him know his schedule for the week, and he hasn’t texted him even once.

Now, Daichi wouldn’t really worry about most people if they did this. He’ll just chalk it up to them being bad texters, considering that many of his friends often liked to read his messages, put their phones down and forget to reply.

But Yuuji is different.

He usually sends him texts every single day – multiple times a day, in fact.

There is the obligatory ‘good morning’ text, which generally included the same inspirational quote he would tweet on Twitter (which has also been silent the last three days. Not that Daichi is stalking it or anything). They will banter for anywhere from ten minutes to an hour, depending on where they are at during their morning routine at the time.

They will text two or three times randomly during the day. Usually it will begin with one of them wanting to share a picture or a story that was happening in their day. That always starts a long, drawn-out conversation, spanning over the course of a few hours, with slower replies than in the morning.

The evenings will lead to an occasional message, although not always. Sometimes they’ll chat, other times they’ll talk about actual work they had to complete, but more often than not one of them has to work which means they didn’t speak until the next morning.

So three days with no message?

It is a little bit concerning.

Daichi sighs, flopping down on to his stomach on the carpeted floor of his apartment. He’s done his morning classes for the day, since Wednesdays he has a long lunch break, although he doesn’t even remember half of what he learned today. His mind has been somewhere the entire day – even _Ryuu_ comments on it, which really tells Daichi that he seems out of sorts, since he is usually too busy talking his ear off to pay attention to how much Daichi is talking.

He stares at his phone.

Would it be weird for him to just… get up, and drive over to Yuuji’s? He knows where he lives-

No. Daichi brushes that thought away fast because _yes_ it would be weird, they’ve only been friends a few months and he isn’t invited.

He wishes desperately that he’d asked for Koutarou’s number so that he could text him, just to see if Yuuji is okay. At this point, that’s all he wants.

He doesn’t care if Yuuji doesn’t want to see him again.

(Okay, he cares a little.)

He just wants to stop feeling like his stomach is trying to eat itself with the nerves rattling around his senses. He’s so deep into his own thoughts that he doesn’t even hear Koushi come home, drop down his backpack and start to prepare dinner. He misses the first few things Koushi says to him, only snapping out of his thoughts when Koushi steps down on him _hard_ with his foot.

“Hey-what the hell!” Daichi squeaks, rolling to escape Koushi’s weight.

“I’ve been talking to you for five minutes, Daichi. What’s wrong?” Koushi sighs, dropping down onto their couch.

“Nothing,” Daichi lies, and not even convincingly. He says it way too fast and without conviction.

“Daichi, you’ve never been able to lie to me. Why start trying now?”

With a loud groan, Daichi rolls back on to his stomach. “Because you _know_ what it is.”

“Still no answer from Yuuji?”

“No,” he says, shaking his head. “No reply, he’s silent on Twitter. I’m worried.”

“Do you want to go to his apartment?”

“No…” Daichi shakes his head, sighing. “He might just not want to talk to me, so I am trying to give him some space? He does have Koutarou, so I guess if things were really bad or if he was missing, someone would already know…”

Koushi rolls his eyes, completely unconvinced. “Stop making reasons to not go. You’re worried! This is affecting you, Daichi.” He pauses. “You really care about him, huh?”

“What? No I don’t.”

“Again with the lies. At least _try_ and put some emotion into it,” Koushi shakes his head, tutting. “Why don’t you just find Koutarou?”

“I don’t have his number and I don’t even know what program he’s in.”

“So what do you know?”

“His address.” Daichi pauses. “And if he doesn’t get back to me by Friday, I’m going over there.”

Koushi nods. “Good idea, but please try and relax a little bit, okay? You still have one more class this afternoon, right?” He stands up to return to the kitchen, checking on his soup. He ladels some into two mugs and comes back, handing one to Daichi.

“Yeah, just one more.”

“Well try not to freak out, and remember that Tetsurou is coming to visit. He’s not staying here, but we’re having a party here for him, okay?”

“A party?” Daichi whines, spooning up some soup. It’s good, a little bland, but it’s just chicken noodle. “Tonight?”

“Yes, a party. What are you, an old man now?”

“I just… don’t really feel in the mood.”

“Well, you might be interested when I tell you that Tetsurou is bringing his new boyfriend for us to meet.”

“Oh?” Daichi perks up at this. They’ve heard tidbits about this new boyfriend, but Tetsurou hasn’t really been sharing too many details. “What do we know so far?”

“He’s studying math, to become a teacher. He’s the same age as us. He’s apparently, according to Tetsurou, ‘a total dork but super hot’, so I don’t know what to take from that since he’s got really weird tastes.”

Daichi nods. “Yeah, he could be bringing some super tall blonde model or a short, tanned, super buff dude. You never know with him.”

“Right, so remember to keep an open mind, okay?” Koushi laughs, eating more of his soup. “And hurry up; your class starts in twenty minutes.”

* * *

Daichi’s last class goes by in a total blur.

He walks out at the end of the lecture. He’s got notes of what was on the slides, thank god, because he doesn’t remember a single word of what the professor said to him.

This _is_ affecting him a lot more than he would like.

He rubs his face, trying to focus as he steps into the hallway. He nearly bumps into someone, stepping back to apologize-

“Daichi? Oh, hey.”

Daichi looks up to see Hajime staring at him with a questioning look on his face. The two have been friends for some time – through Tooru, of course – and although they might not text and talk every day, he’s always been someone Daichi feels comfortable around.

“Hajime, hey. How’s it going?”

“I’m doing good,” he says, shrugging. “Just waiting for Tooru. What about you? You seem a little… distracted,” he says, narrowing his eyes.

Daichi groans. “Damn, is it really that obvious?”

“Well, yeah. You literally just about ran right into me.” Hajime laughs, “you’re usually pretty observant. So, what’s wrong? Wanna talk about it?”

Daichi finds himself nodding, and they take a seat on one of the nearby benches. Daichi’s gotten Koushi’s opinion – maybe getting to hear from someone with a fresh perspective would be helpful.

So he tells him the entire story, starting with his and Yuuji’s meeting, getting to know each other and finally ending at the fact that he still hasn’t texted him in the last three days.

“You should just go to see him,” Hajime says like it’s the simplest thing in the world.

And honestly? Daichi isn’t inclined to argue.

“I mean; you’re worried about him. You care about him. Don’t push it to the side. This is clearly bothering you, I don’t see why you don’t just go to his apartment to check in. What’s the worst that could happen?”

“Oh, I don’t know,” Daichi shrugs, “he’s been having a really intense sex marathon with some girl and that’s why he hasn’t texted me. Or, he’s freaked out that I’m this invested and doesn’t want to hang out anymore.”

Hajime snorts, holding back full-on laughter. “Wow, you like him a _lot_.”

Daichi narrows his eyes. “I do not!”

“Clearly you do. Trust me, I know what it feels like to like someone who also really annoys you at the same time. It’s weird, but you can’t deny it. I tried doing that for a long time and all it ever did was make me miserable.” Hajime looks to his right, where the classroom that Tooru is in is still in session, door closed tight.

Daichi sighs. “But I don’t want to like him. He’s already causing me this much trouble.”

“You don’t always get a choice in things. Do you think I wanted to fall in love with an insufferable, irritating idiot who cares too much about how he looks?” Hajime laughs. “I know mine has a really big heart and is incredibly determined and thoughtful. I doubt that you’re convincing yourself he’s not worth the trouble – even just as a friend - by calling him a troublemaker.”

“You’re probably right.”

“I often am.” Hajime laughs, and offers him a smile.

They chat until Tooru comes out, who convinces Daichi to come with them for a snack at the cafeteria.

Of course, while they’re there, they run into Yuu and Ryuunosuke, who give him the _exact opposite_ advice from what Hajime has given him.

Great.

So helpful.

* * *

“Do I have to?” Daichi lets out a loud groan. He’s done classes, he wants to go home and Koushi has him out shopping for things they need for the party.

“Unless you want everyone to finally cave and eat the couch, yeah.”

Daichi mutters unintelligibly, but he’s at the store within no time and is browsing the shelves for everything that Koushi has requested.

“What kind of chips?”

“I don’t know, what do they have?”

Daichi’s eye twitches. “Koushi, they have like, every single flavour, just like they _always do_.”

“Hm, okay. Plain, barbeque, some sour cream and onion, salt and vinegar… but the crunchy kind, not those soft ones.”

“Alright,” Daichi nods, dropping the bags into his basket. “Do we need chase?”

“Yeah, all we have is some iced tea. I’m ordering pizza though and it’s BYOB so this should be good.”

Daichi nods, grabs the last of what they need and heads for the checkout. He’s glad that he brought his car today because he would not enjoy carrying two cases of pop back to his apartment.

He drops everything in, taking a second to check his phone which is – of course – without a message from Yuuji.

Man, he is so fucked.

* * *

“Are you sure you don’t want anything to drink?” Koushi asks, offering Daichi a beer.

“No, I’m sure.”

“Okay, just make sure you’re actually relaxing, okay?”

“I will,” Daichi snorts, but it isn’t really believable.

It’s only five, but people are starting to show up anyway, because the promise of free snacks and pizza is pretty tempting. Even if Tetsurou isn’t supposed to be in until seven – it seems nobody really minds.

Daichi greets his friends, laughing and watching as Ryuu and Yuu get into _another_ slightly-drunken _Mario Kart_ battle that neither is destined to win. They always seem to forget that Hajime is the king of that game, no matter how drunk he’s gotten.

Daichi allows himself to relax, although in the back of his mind he is still thinking about Yuuji.

Is he okay?

Is he upset?

Why won’t he answer me?

Daichi wants to bash his head against the wall until he can’t think straight anymore, but is saved with Asahi wanders into the kitchen in search of a drink.

“Hey, Daichi. Is everything alright?” Asahi asks, opening up a can of cola. “You look a little… on edge.”

Daichi snorts. “That’s one way to put it.”

Asahi tilts his head to the side, so Daichi relents and repeats his story for what feels like the millionth time.

He feels like a teenager trying to get advice from his friends about how he’s supposed to talk to a girl. Only this time he’s accepted that he’s gay and is never going to want to kiss a girl no matter how much he tries to talk himself into it, he wants to talk to an annoyingly cute boy who isn’t returning his messages, he is apparently bad news while also being one of the sweetest people Daichi knows and said boy is both a mystery and a familiarity.

Honestly, he’s pretty much just confused about everything.

“Well,” Asahi shrugs, and Daichi isn’t really expecting to get a big answer out of him considering his personality so he’s surprised by what comes out of his mouth. “I think you need to talk to him. You’re worried and that’s not just going to go away. I haven’t seen you this worked up about someone since… well… I don’t know if I’ve _ever_ seen you this invested, Daichi. You should go for it.”

Daichi wants to laugh, he honestly does, but he’s just shocked. Asahi doesn’t usually open up like that, and then-

“HE’S HERE!”

Daichi turns and heads into the hallway just in time. The front door bursts open and in walks Kuroo Tetsurou.

He and Daichi didn’t get along at first.

There was a pretty intense rivalry – but when they fizzled away, it became one of his strongest friendships. They’ve remained friends even though Tetsurou goes to school three hours away.

Tetsurou is grinning, his typical, Cheshire cat grin. His black hair is messy as usual, sticking up in every direction. He’s wearing a ridiculous shirt with a stupid cat pun, but it’s okay, because that’s just so Tetsurou and Daichi can’t help but laugh at the comforting, familiar sight of his friend.

“Tetsu!” He laughs, and is immediately swept up into a big hug.

Ah, yeah- he almost forgot how big of a hugger he is.

“Daichi!” He laughs, pulling away. “Man, it is so good to see you! Texting just isn’t the same.”

“I agree,” Daichi laughs, and Tetsurou turns to hug Koushi, then the rest of the crew.

“Oh!” He laughs, turning to the door, heading back. “Are you coming or what?!”

Daichi turns, curiosity peaking, as does Koushi.

Tetsurou comes back.

And he’s with Koutarou.

“Guys, this is Koutarou. My boyfriend! He can’t stay long, but I wanted you to meet him.”

Daichi doesn’t know if he should squeal, shriek or pounce on him because _this is the fucker he’s been looking for… FOR THE PAST THREE DAYS!_

“I-uh-“ Daichi stammers, but nobody notices him as first there’s Yuu then Ryuu who greet him. Koushi is next, before Koutarou turns to see Daichi.

“Oh, hey, Daichi!”

“Koutarou!” Daichi sputters, clearly still shocked. “You.. you’re…?”

“Wait, you two know each other?” Tetsurou tilts his head to the side, confused.

“Um, yeah… I know his roommate.” Daichi looks carefully at Koutarou, who is laughing a little, but he doesn’t exactly look relaxed.

Something just might be wrong after all.

“Yeah, we met a little while ago actually! Small world.” Koutarou laughs, and Tetsurou just hugs him from behind to squeeze him tight.

“Is there food?” Tetsurou laughs and he’s gone, whipping everyone up with him in a whirlwind to the living room.

Except for Koutarou and Daichi.

Daichi just stares at Koutarou, who is clearly a bit unnerved under such a sharp gaze.

“Um, I didn’t know that you two-“

“Oh, that’s cool, that’s not what I…”

He nods. “Yuuji… right?”

“Is he okay?”

Koutarou swallows before shaking his head softly. “No, he’s not.”

Daichi pales. “What happened?”

“He’s… he’s at the hospital.” He picks at his fingernails nervously. “I mean, he’s like. Gonna be okay! Shit, fuck, I shouldn’t have worded it like that. He’s alive and he’s gonna heal. But he got pretty roughed up.”

“He got in a fight?” Daichi’s words ring in his ear. _He got in a fight?_

_So was he this person the whole time? Was he pretending to be this kind, sweet, funny guy? Or-_

“I don’t know the details. I wasn’t with him. I… I should really let him explain.” He ran a hand through his silver hair. “He’s getting released tonight. I was going to go meet him at the hospital, and cab back with him. He kept trying to talk me out of it but no way he’s coming back alone-“

“I can go get him.” Daichi says quickly and definitively. “I haven’t been drinking. I… I… If you want, I mean, I can drive you there.”

“Really? You’d do that? I know he’d like to see you.” Koutarou lets out a breath.

_Well then why no messages?_

“Sure, it’s not a problem. When do we need to be there?”

“Um, seven thirty is what the nurses told me.”

Daichi nods.

“Then let’s eat and we can go.”

He fails to mention just how hard he’s internally flipping out and how much his blood is boiling.

Is he okay?

Why did he get in a fight?

Is he okay?

 _Who hurt him_?

* * *

“Are you sure you’re going to be okay?” Koushi asks, after Daichi pulls him away to explain things.

“Yeah, I’ll be okay. Kou is going to be there anyway. Can you… explain to Tetsurou? Just… tell him whatever you need to. I don’t want him feeling weird about this.”

“Oh, I don’t think he’ll mind,” Koushi snorts. “He’s just going to be excited that his little baby crow is finally growing up and becoming _interested in boys_.”

“Shut up,” Daichi swats his shoulder, heading for the door.

Koutarou is there to meet him and they quietly go for his car, hopping in.

Thank god the radio fills the awkward silence in the car as Daichi doesn’t know what to say. Apparently Koutarou feels just as weird as he does.

Finally, the silence is broken.

“I… I’m sorry, Daichi.” Koutarou sighs, looking out the window. “I… I wanted to contact you when it happened. Fuck, I tried, but I didn’t have your number. I feel so stupid, you were Tetsu’s friend this whole damn time-“

“It’s okay,” Daichi grits his teeth. He’s not mad, not at Daichi and not even at Yuuji (yet). He’s just mad at the circumstances. “It’s not your fault.”

“I’m not so sure it’s Yuuji’s either.” Koutarou crosses his arms. “He got in fights before but he’s been really good for the last year or so. None whatsoever. And now he just decides to get in a fight? When he’s been hanging out with you, too? It doesn’t make sense.”

Daichi just nods. He doesn’t know how to feel, what to think-

He just needs to see Yuuji.

* * *

Room number 315.

An elevator ride has never felt so long in Daichi’s entire _life_.

He taps his foot impatiently, looking at his watch. They’re here early – it’s seven twenty.

Finally, the doors open.

They walk down the hall, and Koutarou nods at him.

“It’s that one there. I’m gonna go get some drinks, and I’ll come meet you in there in a few minutes.”

Daichi is grateful for the privacy, but also a little afraid at what he might find.

He takes a minute to gather his thoughts.

He repeats it to himself: _don’t be mad, don’t be mad, don’t be mad_. He says it like a mantra. He wants to be mad, he wants to be mad so fucking badly because how could he get into a fight?

But Koutarou’s voice is there, keeping him grounded. Maybe it’s not his fault, maybe something else happened-

The only way to find out is to go and talk to him.

So Daichi steels his nerves and knocks on the door.

“These doors don’t actually lock,” comes the snarky reply from inside. It sounds hollow though; hoarse and devoid of any real emotion.

Daichi’s heart drops into his stomach as he opens the door.

He digs his fingernails into the palm of his hand to keep his face neutral, but it takes everything in him to not gasp or step back in shock.

A little roughed up?

That was a bit of an understatement.

When Daichi sees Yuuji, he’s sitting upright in the hospital bed. Dressed in his own clothes, a pair of black sweatpants and a gray sleeveless top. He can see bandages peeking out from the top of his shirt, his knuckles are bandaged and his left upper arm looks like its been stitched shut.

What’s most shocking of all is his _face_.

His jaw and cheek are bruised an ugly, horrible shade of purple. In some spots they’re fading yellow, almost brown. His left eyebrow looks like it’s been stitched together, and it looks like he hasn’t slept in _days_. He’s pale and there are circles under his eyes and Daichi is panicking, he doesn’t know what to do, he’s torn between the desire to run fast and far and to cry and sweep Yuuji up into a hug and kiss his forehead reassuringly.

But he’s too shocked to do anything.

Until Yuuji looks up and, “Daichi?”


	6. Care

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Daichi will stay.”
> 
> Daichi freezes as they fall into silence for the briefest of moments. “Of course I will.” There’s no mark of hesitation in his voice.
> 
> “You’re okay with that?” Koutarou asks, looking excited now. His emotions are so easy to read on his face; Daichi likes being around him. He is never left guessing.
> 
> "Yes, I am."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well I've been working through some shit today, and while I didn't feel like writing any fluff, that meant you get this update a lot sooner than I'd planned! I hope you enjoy! :)

Daichi’s jaw falls completely slack as he tried to force his mouth to move, to say something. _Anything_.

Yuuji looks a mess.

Exhausted is the only way to describe it. His eyes are red and big, heavy bags hang under his eyes. His skin looks pale from it, or maybe it’s because he hasn’t been eating. It’s hard to tell.

The bandages on one of his knuckles is tinged with red, blotting spots to show where the bleeding is still fresh. The skin around his stitches is red and irritated, sporting an ugly-looking flush.

But what is most atrocious is the way his face is absolutely marred.

There’s absolutely no other way to describe it.

Daichi allows himself to take a closer look while Yuuji tilts his head, watching him to gauge his reaction.

He was definitely punched a few times – and good punches, too – in the face. On the right side of his face, right in the middle of a blooming bruise is a very sharp indent, small and thin. It looks like it might have been a ring – if the person was left handed, on their ring finger. Married?

Daichi pulls himself out of these thoughts, realizing that Yuuji is still watching him and waiting for him to react.

He’s pretty sure that Yuuji said his name but he was too absorbed in watching him that he didn’t even hear him. Swallowing thickly, Daichi says hoarsely, “Yuuji?”

“The one and only.” Yuuji smirks, but it’s half-hearted. Daichi wonders if he realizes that was how he introduced himself the first time that they met.

“What… what happened?” Daichi takes a tentative step closer, watching as Yuuji flinches when he tries to adjust his position too quickly. He’s clearly still in pain, and heaves a big sigh.

“I’m sorry, Daichi.”

Daichi freezes. “What?”

He’s the one that got beat up, possibly attacked – why is _he_ sorry?

“I didn’t text or call. I wanted to, but… my phone got completely smashed and I didn’t remember your number.” He sighs, looking down at the floor and Daichi instantly recognizes the look on his face.

Shame.

He wants to wipe that away fast, so he takes another step closer and shakes his head dismissively.

“Don’t worry about that, Yuuji. It doesn’t matter.”

“It does. I promised you, and I couldn’t keep that promise.”

“It’s not your fault,” Daichi says before realizing he doesn’t know if that’s true. It doesn’t stop him from reaching out to touch Yuuji’s face. The blonde flinches the slightest but doesn’t pull back, just watching while Daichi lets his thumb touch his jaw feather-light. He runs his thumb along the jut of his jawline, swiping down his chin. “Does it hurt?”

“A little.” Yuuji breathes slowly, watching Daichi intently. When Daichi pulls back he quickly tacks on, “Not when you touch it so gently, though.”

Daichi nods, allowing his gaze to drop down to the stitching on his arms, and then the bandages on his knuckles. He lets his fingers gently run along the line of bandages, applying virtually no pressure to his hand but drawing reassuring circles instead. “What happened, Yuuji?”

“I don’t really remember.”

Daichi looks up, and, “you don’t remember?”

Yuuji shakes his head, turning to show Daichi the side of his head, pulling back his hair. The skin there is pretty red and irritated, some dry blood still visible in Yuuji’s blonde hair. “I hit my head pretty hard on the pavement. I don’t really remember much from before, or after that.”

“Where were you?”

“I was out at a club. It was pretty stupid, but it was my high school friend’s birthday, and we’re still pretty close. Aside from you, and Kou, I only have a few people I am close with, yeah? So I wanted to celebrate with him.”

“What club?”

“Uh, shit, what’s it called? Shooters? Downtown. The really nasty one.”

Daichi nods – he was dragged there, once. By Yuu. He does not remember it fondly.

“Yeah, well, I stepped out to get some air, and I don’t remember much after that. I think I ran into some guys that I used to run with, but… I don’t know.”

Yuuji looks away and Daichi’s heart drops.

He doesn’t know why and he doesn’t know what about, but it strikes him hard and fast: Yuuji is lying.

He has no idea how he knows. But Yuuji is definitely hiding something.

When did they get close enough that he could know that so easily?

Yuuji avoids Daichi’s eye and the latter can see that Yuuji is _scared_. He doesn’t look his normal, confident self, full of attitude. He’s not looking him in the face, his voice is quiet and he’s hunching over.

So Daichi doesn’t push. He doesn’t want to get pushed away completely, not when Yuuji needs somebody.

He just nods and steps close enough to offer Yuuji a hand to help him up. “Want to get out of here?”

The look of relief that washes over Yuuji’s face is almost cathartic. “Yes, please. If they try to feed me any more jello I’m pretty sure I’m going to throw a fit.”

Koutarou chooses this moment to walk in, a few cans of soda in his pockets. “Hey! Ready to go?”

“Yeah, Kou,” Yuuji nods, hand gripping Daichi’s arm tightly as he balances himself on the dark-haired male, rising to his feet unsteadily. “Let’s go.”

His plead hangs in the air, unspoken, but Daichi feels it.

 _Please_.

* * *

Koutarou proves his worth and strength by single-handedly lifting Yuuji into the backseat of Daichi’s car, leaning over to buckle him in.

“I’m not a child,” Yuuji huffs, but Koutarou doesn’t seem to care. He just jumps to the other side of the car, sliding into the passenger seat with ease.

Daichi steps into the driver’s seat of his car, dropping his phone into the cup holder next to him. He turns the key in the ignition, the engine roaring to life.

He looks to the side to see Kotuarou bouncing in his seat, squirming, eyes fixed on his phone. Daichi can only imagine who he’s texting and exactly where he’d like to be right now.

“Do you want me to drive you back to go and see Tetsurou?” He asks, pressing a hand to Koutarou’s shoulder to keep him rooted to the spot.

“No, it’s okay, I’ll stay with-“

“He’s only here for the weekend, right?” Yuuji pipes up from the back seat of the car. “Seriously, dude, go.”

“No,” Koutarou shakes his head, “No, bro, he understands, and I don’t want to leave you alone.”

“Daichi will stay.”

Daichi freezes as they fall into silence for the briefest of moments. “Of course I will.” There’s no mark of hesitation in his voice.

“You’re okay with that?” Koutarou asks, looking excited now. His emotions are so easy to read on his face; Daichi likes being around him. He is never left guessing.

“Yes, I am. Go spend time with your boyfriend. I’ll make sure he eats and gets some rest.”

“Man, you’re the best, thank you, Daichi!” Koutarou grins, buckling his seatbelt.

Daichi inhales sharply, nodding.

Of course he doesn’t mind taking care of Yuuji; in fact, he’s happy to have a reason to stay. It’s easier this way than trying to make up some reason later on when bringing them back to their apartment.

So he drives back to his place, dropping Koutarou off. He accepts the tight hug Koutarou throws at him before he leaves, giggling, back up the steps. Clearly he’s excited to spend more time with Tetsurou, and Daichi is happy that they’ll have time together. He only really knows them separately, but knowing them both tells him just how well-matched they are.

“Are you hungry?” Daichi asks after he’s buckled himself back up into his car. He throws it into drive, turning on to the street to head back to Yuuji’s place.

“Not really.” Yuuji shrugs, looking out the window. Daichi raises an eyebrow.

“Well that’s too bad, because you’re eating, so if you tell me what you want now you can pick.”

“I thought you weren’t that good of a cook?”

“I can do the basics,” Daichi chuckles lowly, “but I can also pick something up if you decide soon.”

“Let’s pick something up.” Yuuji leans forward in his seat, directing Daichi to his favourite café, where he grabs them both wraps, soup and hot drinks to take to go.

Back in the car, Yuuji offers Daichi money to pay for his half but the latter refuses, simply ignoring his offer and heading faster towards his apartment.

They arrive quickly, and Daichi steps out of the car with their food and tray. He opens up Yuuji’s door before he’s got his seatbelt buckled, offering him a hand to help him up and out.

“I’m not an invalid,” Yuuji quips, scoffing as he struggles to get out of the seat.

“No, just a stubborn idiot who doesn’t want to accept help when he needs it,” Daichi says, but his tone is nothing but teasing and it brings a smile to Yuuji’s face.

Sometimes he needs that tough love.

So he accepts Daichi’s outstretched hand, their fingers sliding together, and lets Daichi pull him up using a strong arm. He leans on him for support as they make their way into the apartment building.

The elevator is slow as molasses, but Daichi insists that they take it. It’s probably a good idea considering how long it takes them to get Yuuji down the hallway, and then to his apartment. He fiddles with his keys before unlocking the apartment and stepping inside.

Daichi leaves his side to bring their food in, before coming back to lead Yuuji to the living room. He gets him set up on the couch, opening up their food and setting it out for him to graze on while he gets some water.

“Daichi,” Yuuji calls from the living room while Daichi is pouring two glasses of water.

“Yeah?” He grabs the glasses, heading into the living room where Yuuji is sitting on the couch.

“Thanks.” He says it so softly, Daichi has to strain to hear it.

He just smiles, nods, and hands him the cup.

“Drink up. And pick something for us to watch.”

Yuuji smirks, taking the cup and drinking half in one go. He grabs the remote control for his television, popping up Netflix.

“What do you think of the new season of _Orange is the New Black_? It might suck, but, I’m this invested, I feel like I should just finish it.” Yuuji takes a bite of his wrap, turning his attention to Daichi.

Daichi, who has spent this entire time just watching Yuuji, not at all even starting in on his food.

“Oh, um, sure,” Daichi manages to slip out, nodding his head. He has no idea what Yuuji’s suggested, but he doesn’t anticipate to really be watching much of it anyway.

Yuuji doesn’t seem to notice, turning his attention to the television where he turns the show on to start. He focuses in on his food, which Daichi is happy to see he’s eating enthusiastically. He makes quick work of the chicken Caesar wrap, focusing his attention on the hot vegetable soup. He blows on it, taking a big spoonful in and sighing contentedly.

“Good?” Daichi asks, before taking a bite out of his own vegetable wrap.

“Mhm,” Yuuji hums as his attention focuses in on the show on the screen.

They eat, chatting idly about the show, Yuuji being shocked at so many of the major plot events, twists and turns. He groans loudly at ones he doesn’t like, cheering those that he does. He’s acting more like himself – sharp quips and all, which is a relief to be honest.

“She’d better not die. She’s my favourite!” Yuuji groans, pointing to the screen.

“Which one?”

“Her.”

Daichi quirks a brow because there’s a dozen ladies on the screen and he still can’t remember all of their names, but he likes to watch how into it Yuuji is getting.

Their food fininshed, Daichi takes their containers to the garbage and gets more water while Yuuji keeps watching. When he gets back, the blonde is yawning, covering his mouth with a hand.

Daichi knows all too well of his insomnia, so what he’ll consider a real victory will be if he can actually get him to sleep. Even just a little bit.

“Wanna keep watching?” Daichi asks, “I can get you something to change in to, or do you want to take a shower first.”

“I…” Yuuji blushes, “I don’t think I can shower by myself. I have to wash the stitches on my chest and arm carefully and I can’t see it very well. And I can’t hold myself up all that well…”

“Okay,” Daichi nods. “How about you sit on the tub and I can wash them out? You don’t need to totally shower.”

“Are you offering to give me a sponge bath?”

“No.”

“You totally are.”

“Do you want me to or not?”

Yuuji looks like he’s about to refuse but he slowly nods. “Yeah. I… I feel pretty disgusting.”

They pause the television and Daichi helps Yuuji up, walking to the bathroom slowly. He doesn’t even think to feel embarrassed – he’s just doing what he needs to, to help a hurt friend – and so when he sits Yuuji down on the edge of the tub and pulls his shirt up, he doesn’t even notice the blush on Yuuji’s cheeks.

He’s careful about getting the shirt off, but soon enough he’s greeted with the sight of Yuuji’s bare chest.

Daichi is focused, though, and just runs some warm bath water, enough to get a wash cloth warm and damp. He drops on a small bit of soap, beginning to run the cloth first across Yuuji’s exposed back.

It’s a good thing he’s too concentrated to look at Yuuji, who is blushing furiously. His facial expression is somewhere between very embarrassed, pleased, touched and affectionate. He’s not sure how he’s supposed to feel, because feeling Daichi’s hands on him is so relaxing.

It gives Yuuji a chance to observe him undisturbed. Daichi wets the cloth again, running it up Yuuji’s ribs, sliding up to wash the underside of his left arm. He continues onward, avoiding his wounds, just cleaning up the rest of his body. Occasionally he’ll dip the washcloth in some more warm water to wet it, before continuing his work.

Daichi squints, his eyebrows furrowing. Yuuji is struck by how handsome he looks up close. Dark skin, strong biceps, such careful and gentle touches…

Yuuji flinches when Daichi washes over the stitches on his chest to which Daichi’s eyes flick up to his.

“Sorry, is that too rough?” He asks, withdrawing the cloth. He replaces it with just his fingers, allowing the pads of his fingers to run across the jagged stitches. There’s only about five, and they run just below his collarbone. Daichi can’t tell what they’re from exactly, but obviously something jagged – maybe a blade? He really hopes it isn’t a blade.

“It’s okay,” Yuuji says softly after his nerves have calmed down and it doesn’t hurt so bad anymore. Daichi continues his touches, soft and hesitant, until he’s satisfied at how the wound has been washed out.

He moves his attention to his arm, carefully dripping warm water in to clean out the stitches. His fingers brush along it gently and Yuuji finds himself closing his eyes, trusting Daichi to do whatever he deems necessary.

The careful touches slide down his arm, to his hands. Daichi carefully unwraps the bandages on his right hand, carefully cleaning out the cuts on his knuckles. He does the same with the left, carefully letting his fingers explore the small dips and bumps of Yuuji’s hands.

Yuuji mistakenly opens his eyes to see Daichi staring at him so softly, focused on where he was touching the palm of his hands.

He quickly closes his eyes, overwhelmed at the sight.

“Hair?” Daichi asks, leaning over Yuuji to grab a bottle of shampoo. He coaxes Yuuji to the floor where he can lean his head back and over the edge of the tub so that Daichi can rinse his hair out.

He lets the water run warm again, letting some fall into his outstretched hands before pouring it out over Yuuji’s hair. He doesn’t use the shower head, not knowing how much his head still hurts, and tests it out first by working his fingers through his hair and touching his scalp carefully.

“This okay?”

“Mhm. Yeah.” Yuuji sighs contentedly, enjoying the feeling of Daichi basically massaging his scalp. It’s still a bit sensitive, but no open cuts anymore and the pain has dulled to a distant throb.

Satisfied, Daichi squirts some shampoo on to the palm of his hand, working it through Yuuji’s care. He does so with ease, going slowly and rubbing circles into Yuuji’s scalp. The motion is gentle, easy and comforting. Yuuji feels like he could sleep, if this position were only more comfortable.

That relaxation doesn’t escape Daichi’s eyes.

Running the water again, Daichi carefully rinses out all of the shampoo, rinsing the last of it off his hands before turning the water off altogether. He uses the wash cloth to wipe off the residual shampoo from Yuuji’s shoulders, checking to make sure he didn’t miss any.

Daichi wrings out the cloth, and asks, “where’s the dry towels?”

“Cupboard under the sink.”

Daichi fetches one, using it to dry off Yuuji carefully. He grabs the first-aid kit from under the sink as well, grabbing some gauze and tape to bandage up his knuckles again.

“Is this too tight?” He asks, testing the pressure of the bandages.

“No…”

“And… there… you… go.” Daichi nods, looking at his work, pleased. He leaves the stitches to get some air.

“Feel better?”

“Yeah. More human now.” Yuuji rubs his face, and Daichi offers him a smile.

“Come on, let’s get some rest, okay?”

Yuuji wants to argue, because he _doesn’t_ sleep and Daichi knows that, but he’s too tired. Was there some kind of magic in that head massage? There must have been, because he’s struggling to his feet and leaning most of his weight on Daichi, who supports him easily.

Daichi doesn’t ask where he wants to go, just leading him into the bedroom. He sits him down on the edge of the bed, turning to rummage through his dresser drawers until he finds what he wants. He grabs a t-shirt, contemplating pyjama pants but he figures that’s too much of a struggle.

“Arms up,” he instructs, to which Yuuji complies. He’s able to easily slide on a red t-shirt that hugs Yuuji’s skin comfortingly.

He just looks down at Yuuji’s pants, but the blonde gets the hint. “I can take these off myself.”

He does, with a little difficulty, and Daichi decides that his black boxers are fine enough for him to sleep in. He gets Yuuji tucked into bed, bringing the blanket up around him.

Yuuji looks tired, but Daichi knows he won’t sleep once Daichi leaves. He’s got an idea, but he needs a reason to stay…

“Let’s turn it on here. I want to know what happens, what about you?”

Yuuji smiles and nods. “Yeah, I do.”

Daichi takes the initiative to disappear out the bedroom, making sure the door is locked, windows are closed and lights are off. He can’t turn off this side of him (which Ryuu calls his “dad side”) and grabs them two glasses of water just in case.

He comes back in to the bedroom where Yuuji is just about to hit play. He’s more propped up now on the pillows, blankets pulled up around him. He looks really adorable all curled up like that, if Daichi is being honest.

He’s not, at least not to himself, though, so he lets that thought fall away as fast as it occurs to him.

“Have some more water,” Daichi instructs, handing one glass to Yuuji. He leaves his on the nightstand, crawling over Yuuji to the other side of the bed.

The blonde scoffs, but drinks it up anyway. He drops it on the night stand, relaxing back into the pillows.

“Ready?”

“Sure am.”

Yuuji hits play, eyes focusing on the screen. A smile burns his face as _he called it_ , he knew that was going to happen.

“Sure you did.”

“I’m amazing at predicting TV, Daichi.”

“Whatever you say.”

“I am! Just wait, my other predictions will come true!”

And they do.

They get through one episode before Yuuji is squirming, trying to get comfortable.

“I.. can’t lay on my chest, or on my arm…” he mumbles. “I’m having trouble keeping myself up on these pillows…” he admits, yawn pulling at him right in the middle of his sentence.

Daichi just nods, and reaches out for Yuuji. “Use me, then.”

“Um. What?”

“As a pillow. Come on, don’t argue.”

Yuuji wants to – he thinks he does, anyway – but he’s tired, and Daichi is warm, and it takes no time for him to be pressed up against him, back flush against Daichi. His legs are stretched out on the bed, one side leaning ever so slightly against Daichi.

He’s warm and comfortable but this isn’t right, can’t be right-

But then Daichi is carding his hands through Yuuji’s damp hair, absentmindedly, while he focuses on the screen.

“Yuuji,” Daichi says, his hand never stilling.

“Hm?”

“You were right.” Daichi smiles, looking down at Yuuji, who is half-focusing on the screen.

The blonde decides he can just listen to the television show. He closes his eyes, cheek pressed up against Daichi’s stomach. The rise and fall of his chest is relaxing, and he can even feel the rhythmic beat of Daichi’s heart.

When Daichi finally looks down as the episode comes to an end, he sees that Yuuji is asleep against him.

He smiles, softly, hands slipping through blonde hair. He frowns though as his fingers slide over the bump on his head, and then down to the bruises lining his cheeks.

Daichi asks the question that has been plaguing him this entire evening. He asks is so softly as not to wake the sleeping Yuuji, curled up against him.

“Who really hurt you, Yuuji? What aren’t you telling me?”


	7. The Truth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thankfully, Daichi wakes up first that next morning. It’s a good thing because the two of them are completely wrapped up together – his arm is wrapped around Yuuji’s middle protectively, hand tucked under his back. Their legs are tangled together. Yuuji’s ankle is hooked around his calf, digging in the slightest bit. Yuuji’s head is tucked under Daichi’s chin, his breathing soft. His cool, gentle breaths are tickling Daichi’s neck, his blonde hair rubbing against his jaw.
> 
> It’s hard, but, he pulls away, not ready to confront the intimacy of their position just in case Yuuji wakes up. He slips his arm away first, untangling their legs as gently as possible. Yuuji hardly sleeps so he really doesn’t want to wake him up.

Thankfully, Daichi wakes up first that next morning. It’s a good thing because the two of them are completely wrapped up together – his arm is wrapped around Yuuji’s middle protectively, hand tucked under his back. Their legs are tangled together. Yuuji’s ankle is hooked around his calf, digging in the slightest bit. Yuuji’s head is tucked under Daichi’s chin, his breathing soft. His cool, gentle breaths are tickling Daichi’s neck, his blonde hair rubbing against his jaw.

It’s hard, but, he pulls away, not ready to confront the intimacy of their position just in case Yuuji wakes up. He slips his arm away first, untangling their legs as gently as possible. Yuuji hardly sleeps so he really doesn’t want to wake him up.

Slipping out of bed, he rubs his face as he looks around the room for his things. He grabs his phone from where it’s been left on the floor and exits the room.

The door clicks closed softly behind him and he pads over to the kitchen as quietly as possible. He considers if he should try to make some coffee, turning on his phone to check his messages.

He opens up the first conversation that pops – messages from Koutarou.

 **Koutarou:** hey dude thanks again!!

 **Koutarou:** I stayed with tetsu but I’ll be back after lunch so you can leave whenever you need to ok

 **Koutarou:** how is he?

Daichi is surprised at the speed with which he responds – clearly, his texting with Yuuji is affecting him and he’s able to type a lot faster than he could before.

 **Daichi:** hey kou

 **Daichi:** well he slept so I’m happy about that

 **Koutarou:** wow you are magical bro!!

 **Daichi:** not really just persistent

 **Koutarou:** lol well either way thank you. You are really good for him

Daichi freezes, unsure as to how he is supposed to respond. They’re not dating – he’s just Yuuji’s friend – right?

Instead of answering, he fiddles with the coffee pot, searching through cupboards until he finds the coffee filters and a can of coffee to use. He scoops some out, setting up the coffee pot and pours in a bunch of water to get it started.

He checks his phone to find a few other text messages. Some from Koushi, of course, wanting to know what happened, but also a few from Tetsurou and Tooru.

He’s sure Koutarou will fill Tetsurou in, so instead he opens up his conversation with Tooru.

 **Tooru:** Dai-chan! Are you going to stats today? If you are can I catch a ride?

 **Daichi:** I might, why do you need a ride? Don’t you usually just walk?

 **Tooru:** I stayed over at hajime’s and I won’t be able to make the bus

 **Tooru:** Test prep today in class! Test next week.

 **Daichi** : ugh, that’s right. Okay I have to go then… I’ll come pick you up at 10:30, okay?

 **Tooru:** Roger that! Thank you!

 **Daichi:** don’t be late

The smell of freshly brewed coffee filling his senses, Daichi looks up and is pleased to see that the coffee is ready. He digs through the fridge for cream, remembering just how Yuuji likes his – with cream and sugar. He fills up two mugs with hot coffee, spooning in some sugar and topping them off with cream. He stirs them slowly, wondering if Yuuji is awake yet. He’s got a bit of time before he has to leave, but he’d rather leave with Yuuji awake so that he can get a bit of an idea of how he’s feeling.

He steels his nerves, heading back to the bedroom with the two coffee cups in hand.

He’s relieved to see Yuuji, yawning awake, propping himself up on some pillows.

“Good morning,” he greets, holding up the cups. “Coffee?”

“Mhmmm,” Yuuji mumbles. He’s clearly not a morning person and it’s adorable. “Please.” He accepts the cup and takes a long drink, sighing contentedly as the warm liquid washes down his throat.

Daichi takes the opportunity to look at Yuuji – really look at him. He sees his bedhead, hair looking quite tousled on his head, but still somehow soft. The bags that were under his eyes yesterday look diminished now; they’ve lessened, the darkness leaving them. His skin looks more pink and bright, too. He’s relieved to see Yuuji is a lot less pale.

As his gaze travels to Yuuji’s wounds, Daichi has to stop himself from reaching out to run his hands along his face and feel, with his fingertips, how the bruises are healing. He remembers that last night is gone – and with it, that comfortable atmosphere, where he could touch Yuuji as he pleased. Because Yuuji doesn’t need him like that anymore, and doing anything else would be breaching the line of friendship they have so carefully drawn, he is hesitant to do anything.

The bruises are beginning to fade, not so red anymore. They’re faded to shades of purple and brown now. The cuts are all but healed and he is starting to look like himself again.

“Daichi?”

Daichi forces his eyes up to meet Yuuji’s gaze. “Yeah?”

“Thanks… for… you know, staying. I actually got some rest and it feels… really nice.”

He nods. “I was happy to do it.”

They sit in pretty comfortable silence for a while; Daichi sits on the edge of the bed, crossing his legs as they drink their coffee and he quietly scrolls through his phone while Yuuji wakes up.

Draining his cup, Daichi puts his coffee cup down on the nightstand, sitting back to look at Yuuji. “So how do you feel?”

Yuuji shrugs, “less like a garbage can. More like a recycling bin now.”

Daichi laughs, “What’s the difference?”

“Like two levels of bad.”

“Two levels of bad?”

“Yeah,” he nods, leaning forward and closer to Daichi. “I actually feel rested, and my face is aching less than before. My arm isn’t even hurting; my chest is just like a dull ache right now. Definitely better than before.”

“I’m glad,” Daichi laughs. “Can I…?” He asks, gesturing to his arm. Yuuji nods, so Daichi takes the initiative. He pulls back Yuuji’s sleeve to check on his arm first. The stitches look good – not any more irritated than before. A little more gingerly, he pulls down the neck of his shirt just to get a look at his chest. For some reason, this feels more personal than last night when he was literally washing him with a cloth.

“They look okay,” he nods, moving his hands to check his face. He puts a thumb on Yuuji’s jaw, holding him in place and moving his face from side to side. “Less swollen today, too.”

“Am I ever gonna be pretty again, Daichi?”

“Again?” He teases, to which Yuuji sticks his tongue out at him.

“Hilarious, so hilarious, poking fun at the ugly, injured guy,” Yuuji says jokingly, laughter on his lips.

“I wouldn’t worry. You even look pretty despite being black and blue.”

Yuuji lifts an eyebrow and is about to say something but Daichi blurts out loudly, “I have class to get to. You gonna be okay until Koutarou gets here?”

He gets a nod in response. “Yeah, I might lay down for a bit. Do some reading. Something that will require… the least amount of movement possible.”

“Good.” Daichi ruffles his hair, earning a tut from Yuuji.  “I’ll see you later.”

* * *

Daichi pulls up to Hajime’s place, pulling out his phone. He’s about to text Tooru, but he’s surprisingly on the ball and bounces out of the door with his backpack in his hand.

“Thanks, Dai-chan!” He sing-songs as he steps into the passenger seat, tossing his backpack into the back seat.

“No problem.” Daichi nods, putting the car into drive.

They drive in silence for only a few moments before Tooru pipes up.

“So is everything okay? You left pretty fast last night.”

Daichi nods. He expected to be telling this to Koushi first, but, for some reason it’s easy to tell Tooru.

“He got pretty beat up. He’s going to be alright, but I spent the night last night at his place.”

“Who beat him up?”

Daichi shrugs, “I don’t know. He said he doesn’t remember, but… for some reason, I felt like that was off. I feel like there’s something he’s not telling me.”

Tooru nods, slowly. “You stayed there? Did you sleep on the couch?”

He freezes. “Um, no.”

“No?”

“No… I slept in his bed.”

Tooru turns to him sharply, “You did what now?!”

“W-we just slept! Just that. Nothing more.”

“Are you sure, Dai-chan? I mean, Koushi _did_ say that he was really cute-“

“No! We’re just friends!”

“Hmm, okay.” Tooru throws him a smirk, “Tell me everything that happened.”

“We just ate, and watched some Netflix! I helped him wash out his stitches and then we went to bed.”

“You helped him _wash_?”

“He was still wearing his pants! He just… couldn’t do it himself!” Daichi is not blushing, he’s not blushing-

Oh, no, he’s totally blushing.

“Well then, Daichi,” Tooru chuckles.

“We’re just friends!”

“I hate to be the bearer of bad news here, but that isn’t something that _friends_ do. That’s…a little beyond friendship.”

Daichi turns his attention to the road, flicking on his turn signal as he turns into the University parking lot.

“We’re here, time to get out of my car and stop harassing me.”

* * *

Just like Koutarou promises, Yuuji’s bruises fade.

But Daichi’s concern for him does not.

They go back to texting like usual, but with still an entire week between the current date and when they are planning to go to Yuuji’s uncle’s café. Daichi is finding that he’s looking for reasons for them to spend time together.

Finishing his breakfast Sunday morning, he realizes that he doesn’t need a reason.

They’re _friends_ , after all.

So he sends a simple text message.

 **Daichi:** hey wanna hang out tonight?

He puts his phone down, and goes to wash his dishes. He’s in the middle of drying his bowl when his phone beeps to alert him to a response.

 **Yuuji:** I’m off at 6! I can bring some food too. We got gift certificates at work for staff appreciation lol

 **Daichi:** Sounds good, I’ll see you then.

Daichi checks the time on his phone.

11:23 am.

He’s got quite a lot of time to burn.

So he decides to head out – sitting around his apartment is just going to make him go crazy. He grabs his headphones and heads out to the mall. He figures that’s the best place to spend a few hours. Besides, a few of his friends work there and they might be there for him to vent at.

He pops in his headphones, walking down casually. He loses himself in the music, vaguely registering when he makes it to the front doors of the mall, and then walks in.

He stops at the music and movie store, first. It’s usually pretty busy, but he knows he’ll at least get to wave at Kiyoko, who works there. He stops in and she’s working the register, but he actually finds a movie that Asahi recommended to him so he hops in line and gets to say hello before heading off.

He walks by the shoe store where Yuu works, and it doesn’t look busy at all so he heads in.

“Oh, hello! How can I help you?” Yuu asks, cheekily, when he spots Daichi.

“I was looking for a loudmouthed idiot, but I think I found him already.”

Yuu just howls with laughter. “Hmm, I’m not the one in a shopping mall who isn’t shopping, or being paid to be here.”

“I am shopping.”

“Oh? And what for?”

“I bought this movie,” Daichi says defensively, showing the bag he got from the store.

“Yeah, yeah, a convenient example. And now what are you shopping for, hmm?” He snickers, but when his manager walks by he tacks on, “sir”.

Daichi isn’t ready to walk away, wants to get his thoughts off his chest so he sighs. “I could use a new pair of sneakers.”

“That’s what I’m talking about! Right this way.”

Yuuji leads him to the back of the store where the walls are lined with shoes of all kinds. He shows him to the sneaker display where they start trying on different pairs, Daichi considering how to breach the topic of Yuuji.

“So Daichi.” Yuu hands him a pair of sleek, black and white runners. “Are you hiding from Yuuji?”

Daichi sputters, shaking his head. “W-what? No! That’s ridiculous.”

“You’ve got that look on your face… the same one you had last week whenever you’d talk about him. Y’know, all freaking out and worried.”

Daichi frowns, “I don’t know, there’s still so much about him I don’t know. I’m just worried about him, I guess.” He puts his right foot into the shoe, wiggling his toes to test the room before starting to lace it up.

“Have you talked to him?”

“Yeah, but not about what happened.” Daichi puts on the other shoe, standing up to examine them in the mirror. “He doesn’t want to talk, and I’m trying to respect that.”

“That’s smart. From what you told me, he is pretty closed off. “

Daichi nods, walking a few paces in the shoes to test them out. “These feel pretty good,” he says. “I’ll take them.”

“Sweet. And Daichi? Just chill. You’ve been giving him his space. If he’s ready, he’ll talk. If not? Just keep being his friend. Sounds like he needs one.”

Daichi nods, sighing a bit to himself. He just hopes that what he’s been doing is enough.

* * *

After paying for his new shoes, Daichi takes a quick detour to stop in at the toy store where Koushi works, and then at the sporting goods store where Asahi works. He gives Hajime a wave, walking past the restaurant that he works at, not needing to stop in as Yuuji said he will bring them food.

Daichi checks his watch – 5:20. He decides it’s a good enough time to head home, as he’ll have time to take a quick shower and tidy up before Yuuji comes over. He turns on his heel and is surprisingly able to convince himself easily to let go of the thoughts plaguing him, pushing them to the back of his mind for a time.

He gets home, showers, puts on some comfortable clothes. Just a _Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles_ t-shirt and some black sweatpants. He knows Yuuji, he doesn’t need to impress him. He also sees the value in comfort.

He is just turning on the television to browse through the selection on Netflix when his phone buzzes.

 **Yuuji:** I’m here, come let me in pls

 **Daichi:** omw

Daichi just takes the time to grab his keys, going down to the lobby to unlock the door for Yuuji in his bare feet. He spins around the corner, and the knot that has been building all day in his stomach disappears the moment that he sees Yuuji.

He opens the door to let him in.

“’bout time, Daichi!” Yuuji laughs, stepping in beside Daichi.

Daichi quickly takes stock of him. The bruises on his face are healing and are not really swollen anymore – the remainder of bruise is now mostly on his jaw and is dark in colour, a sign that it’s close to disappearing altogether. He’s wearing long sleeves, so Daichi can’t see his stitches, but he doesn’t look pained. His hands are shoved into his pockets; he’s wearing a lazy smirk. The bags under his eyes are not too pronounced, and he doesn’t look pale

Daichi is relieved.

“Yeah, yeah, come on up.” He huffs, annoyed act entirely fake. “What did you bring me to eat?”

Yuuji laughs. “Oh, I see. That’s the real reason why you wanted me here.” He follows Daichi, who heads for the stairs up.

“Let me see-“ Daichi reaches for the back in his hand, which Yuuji pulls away.

“Ah ah ah! You’ll see soon enough!”

Daichi rolls his eyes, but laughs. It’s nice, and easier than he thought. He isn’t preoccupied with anything other than hearing Yuuji laugh again.

* * *

“What d’ya wanna watch while we eat?” Yuuji asks, pulling the food he brought from the to-go bag. He puts a cheeseburger and fries in front of Daichi and pulls out the same thing for himself.

Daichi shrugs, “I don’t really care, to be honest.” He gestures to the kitchen and gets up to grab them drinks.

“Just water for me.”

“Good idea. You don’t drink enough of it.”

Yuuji chuckles, “Okay, Dadchi.”

Daichi whips around at a startling speed. “No. You didn’t just- _no_. Where did you hear that.”

Yuuji looks up at him innocently. “Hear what?”

“ _That name_.”

He laughs and does his best to play it off but he can’t control himself and snorts with laughter. It’s way cuter than it probably should be. “I… I might have heard… something from Kou… who heard… something… from Tetsu…”

Daichi pales. “I am going to _kill_ him.”

“That’s not a very- good example to set… for the kids… Dadchi.” Yuuji erupts into laughter, leaning over and holding his stomach from it.

“Changed my mind. I’m gonna kill _you_.”

Yuuji holds his hands up submissively. “I give, I give! Please, have mercy on me!”

Daichi halts for a moment.

“…Dad.”

“No, you’re dead.”

* * *

They finally get around to eating, while they flick around looking for something to watch. Daichi finally snatches the remote from an indecisive Yuuji and puts on a re-run of _Family Feud_.

“Just watch and eat, your food is gonna get cold at this rate.” Daichi nods towards Yuuji’s untouched meal.

“Right, right, Daichi,” Yuuji laughs. There’s still a hint of trouble in his voice, but he doesn’t bring up the nickname again, so they’re good.

* * *

“Game?” Yuuji asks, reaching for his bag. “I brought an extra controller.”

Daichi nods his head, getting up to set up his Xbox. “Pick a game then, Yuuji.” He points to his bookshelf where he has his collection organized.

Yuuji gets up to go and look, peering through the titles curiously. “Wow, it’s all in alphabetical order. Nice.”

“Yes, and that’s how they’ll be when you’re done with them too.”

“Right, right, no need to worry.”

Yuuji picks out a random game, tossing it to Daichi. “This one okay?”

“Yeah, it’s one of my favourites. You ever play?” He pops _Borderlands 2_ out of his case and into the Xbox console.

Yuuji shakes his head.

“Man, you’re in for a treat, then.”

They settle down on to the couch, Yuuji close enough for their arms to brush together.

But the game starts, giving Daichi a much-needed distraction.

* * *

“Hey-stop-you’re-cheating!” Daichi laughs as Yuuji uses his foot to push Daichi’s legs to the end of the coffee table, hanging threateningly close to falling.

“Never! All is fair in one on one combat!” Yuuji pushes, but Daichi resists, while they both frantically try to kill the other in game.

“Eat-my-grenade!”

“Haha, missed me, old man!”

“Why you little-“

Daichi pushes his feet back and Yuuji loses his balance, falling to the side of the couch with a laugh. Daichi takes the opportunity to stab his in-game character and win the duel.

“I’ll have your cash now, please.”

“I hate you, you know?”

Daichi laughs. “Nah, you don’t fool me.”

Yuuji looks at him with a smile, and it is true. He isn’t fooling anyone, is he?

* * *

Yuuji laughs, putting down his controller to finish off the last of the water in his cup. He looks to Daichi, who is completely focused on the game, searching for bandits to take out.

He bites his lip.

There’s something that’s been eating away at him for the last week.

Ever since he was in the hospital – the entire time, a knot has been growing in his stomach.

With Daichi being so kind to him, it’s only growing bigger, twisting uncomfortably. It’s making it hard to eat, sleep – even drinking water makes him want to vomit.

Daichi has been taking care of him, being _concerned_ for him and it’s almost too much to bear. He’s not supposed to do that – why does he care? Yuuji seriously can’t figure it out, but it’s eating him alive. He feels like he owes him the truth.

But can he trust him with it?

Well, it doesn’t matter because he can’t keep it in any longer.

“Daichi.” Yuuji pauses the game, lifting his legs up on the couch to cross them. He picks at his fingernails nervously.

“Yeah, Yuuji?” Daichi asks. He turns his focus to the blonde which causes his nerves to spike.

He steels his nerves, and, “I lied.”

Daichi remains quiet. It takes every ounce of restraint that he has, but he doesn’t move. He doesn’t even flinch.

“I lied, and I’m not sorry about lying, but I am sorry that I lied to you. I was hoping you wouldn’t ask, but you did, and I had to lie. I wish I didn’t because you’re cool and have been such a great friend and I don’t like being a shitty one.”

Daichi continues to watch him as a silence envelops them. When Yuuji remains quiet, Daichi asks, “What… did you lie about, Yuuji?”

It’s a stupid question – he already knows the answer. But, he needs to hear it from Yuuji’s mouth.

“What happened last Sunday. When I got in that fight.”

Daichi nods slowly. He wants to reach out and touch Yuuji but he pushes that desire away to the deep recesses of his brain where it won’t bother him. “You knew the people who beat you up, didn’t you.”

Yuuji nods. “Person.”

Daichi’s stomach twists uncomfortably.

“It was just one person, but I was surprised when he started swinging so he got a few hits on me before I could even react.”

Daichi swallows thickly, and, “who was it, Yuuji?”

Yuuji looks to the floor. “It was my dad, Daichi.”

If Daichi were the Hulk, right now he’d be green and screaming and destroying everything in sight. Unfortunately, he doesn’t have such a convenient excuse to express his rage so he has to try his best to school his features and keep his voice even.

“What happened, Yuuji?”

“I _was_ at that club. For Kazuma’s birthday. Only at like, eleven or so, I headed out to get some air.” He breathes in deeply, letting it out and looking away. “I haven’t seen him in _year_ s, Daichi. The last time I saw him was four years ago. Fuck, I thought I was done with that part of my life.”

Daichi wants to offer some sort of comfort but he’s so far out of his depth. All he can do is reach out to grasp on to Yuuji’s wrist. Little does he know, the small action grounds Yuuji, and helps him to keep going.

“I really _did_ hit my head, so I don’t remember all the details, but he saw me… started talking to me, right? Like we were a _family_? Like we hadn’t seen each other for so long out of _coincidence_ , or choice, or whatever fucking shit is going on in his brain. Not like he didn’t lose custody four years ago for fucking beating us up.” He breathes shakily, and Daichi squeezes his wrist.

“Anyway, he’s talking to me, but I’m barely hearing him… I just want to leave, but it’s like my feet and my brain aren’t connected anymore and I can’t move. It was like I was sixteen again and had to listen to whatever he said or else be afraid of what he might do. He mentions that he’s been looking for us… my brother and me… that he has been _trying to find my brother_ … and I just lost it, Daichi. I started yelling at him. I was so mad – he threw the first punch. I know I hit him back, but I don’t remember anything other than hitting the pavement. I think that some people from the club pulled us apart, but he obviously left while people started coming out from the club. I guess someone remembered I was with Kazuma, and they pulled him out. He drove me to the hospital.”

He lets out a breath. “I just… I just wanted you to know. I feel like… you deserve to know. I don’t…”

When Yuuji falls quiet for a few moments, Daichi tries to process what he’s just heard.

His dad… his dad… his dad…

Suddenly an unbearable thought strikes him – _what if he comes back_?

“Are you going to tell the police?” Daichi asks. “You said he lost custody before, he shouldn’t be-“

“What? No. No, I’m not.” Yuuji looks up to him, startled by the question.

“Why not? What if he comes back and tries to do this again-“

“No, no, I… I _can’t_ … I can’t do that, Daichi. Not again.” Yuuji pulls his arm out of Daichi’s grasp, fumbling backwards. “I-It’s late. I need to go.”

“No, Yuuji, you can stay-“

“No, I should really go.” He stands up shakily, ignoring Daichi’s protests.

It takes all of thirty seconds for Yuuji to disappear out the door and for Daichi to feel like he’s made the biggest mistake of his life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, um... yeah. I don't really know what to say. I'm sorry ;~; But there's the big reveal! I think some of you had ideas about it, but now you know for sure. Thank you for reading, and please let me know your thoughts below :) ♥♥
> 
> Also this is becoming an exploration of Daichi's friendships which has been very fun to write lol
> 
> Just so you're aware: on Monday, the 27th, I'm going on vacation until July 6th. I'll have my laptop with me but I'm unsure as to how much internet access I'll have, so I'm going to work hard to get one more update out at least before I leave.


	8. Isolated

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Daichi wants to bang his head against the wall until he can’t see, can’t think, can’t hear, can’t feel.
> 
> Yuuji isn’t answering his text messages and it’s _driving him crazy._
> 
> Daichi: Yuuji please answer me.  
> Daichi: Yuuji  
> Daichi: Are you okay?  
> Daichi: Yuuji, please.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow I sat down on my flight and wrote this whole chapter and part of the next one. Let me know your thoughts - thank you! :)

Daichi wants to bang his head against the wall until he can’t see, can’t think, can’t hear, can’t _feel_.

Yuuji isn’t answering his text messages and it’s _driving him crazy_.

 **Daichi:** Yuuji please answer me.

 **Daichi:** Yuuji

 **Daichi:** Are you okay?

 **Daichi:** Yuuji, please.

In a fit of frustration, he tosses his phone hard against the floor, turning to lean against the wall of his apartment. He closes his eyes, replaying the events of the previous night over and over in his head.

It’s all he’s been able to think about for the past day while Yuuji dodges all of his messages.

He can’t focus in class. He doesn’t even hear Tooru when he’s recounting some story to him during a lecture, which the brunet must notice, as he sends him an e-mail containing his notes from their class together.

He misses his second class altogether, unable to keep track of time. Shimizu sends him a text with what they did, but he can only read it, barely registering what he says.

He doesn’t even react to Yuu and Ryuu’s teasing, which confuses them.

He has lunch with Asahi, but he doesn’t even taste whatever it is that he’s eating. Soup, maybe? His friend must notice something is off because he walks him home after lunch, leaving his car back in the parking lot at the University. He’s far too distracted to drive. Asahi sits with him in his apartment, in quiet silence, until Koushi comes home.

It’s when he’s alone with his best friend that he finally cracks. He lets everything out – he tells him everything, starting from the very beginning.

He doesn’t want to betray Yuuji’s trust, but he knows Kosuhi won’t tell anyone, so he hopes that he will understand.

Daichi sighs, turning around to lean his back against the wall.

_I just want to protect you, Yuuji._

“I don’t know what to do,” Daichi says, quietly, eyes sliding closed. He feels so painfully _useless_ , sitting here while Yuuji is off doing god knows what, thinking god knows what and feeling like Daichi let him down.

All he wants is to hug him and help keep him safe.

Why is it that is the one thing that he can’t do right now?

“Have you called Koutarou?” Koushi asks. He’s been mostly giving Daichi his space, sticking in the kitchen while he makes dinner, but he responds to everything that Daichi says.

“Not yet. He’s in class for another half an hour.” Daichi heads to the couch, scooping up his phone as he goes. He hasn’t been able to let it go all day – _just in case_. He’s still holding out some feeble hope that Yuuji will suddenly decide to answer his text messages.

“There’s no use in worrying yourself sick, Daichi.”

“I know. I can’t help it.”

Koushi sighs. “I understand. I’m here for you, you know that, right?”

Daichi nods. “Mhm. Thanks.”

Koushi steps into the room, holding two bowls of hot rice and steamed veggies. “Now eat. Asahi told me you barely touched your lunch, and I know you didn’t eat any breakfast.”

Daichi grumbles, but he accepts it anyway. He gingerly takes a bite of the rice. It’s bland, but it’s exactly what he needs right now, and it sits in his stomach easily. Before he knows it everything is gone from the bowl and he sets it down on the table, licking his lips.

He looks up at the television where Koushi has turned on the weather network. It’s a habit of his – he doesn’t like to sit in quiet, so he’ll sit and listen to whatever news they have as well as the forecast.

“Big storm coming tonight,” Koushi says, nodding at the screen. The reporter is standing in front of a huge map and is waving their arms a little too enthusiastically, showing where the storm is travelling.

“Chance of _hail_?”

“Apparently. 100% chance of rain, with probably thunder and lightning and a chance of hail. Sounds like it’s gonna be a loud night.” Koushi bites down on a piece of broccoli absentmindedly.

“Yeah, I guess I-“

Daichi freezes when his phone lights up, buzzing his familiar ringtone. He snatches it off the table, accepting the call without even looking at who it is.

“Hey, Daichi!” It’s Koutarou’s voice. It sounds windy where he is – he must have called right after finishing classes.

“Hey, Kou.” Daichi lets out a sigh of relief. “Have… have you seen Yuuji?”

“Yeah. He’s pretty much been locked in his room all day.” He sighs and Daichi can imagine the look on his face. “He won’t talk to me.”

“Has he ever done this before?”

“Only once, two years ago. He got some really bad news. It took him days to come out and talk to me.”

 _Days?_ Daichi has barely survived a single day, he doesn’t know how much more of this he can take.

“I-I can’t wait that long. I need to see him.”

“I understand,” Koutarou says, “I get it, man. I do. But I don’t know how to get him out of there. I figured you’d be the best candidate for that.” He pauses, and then, “he’s really opened up a lot more since you two have been talking. He even talks to me more easily than before.”

Daichi hums in response. “When are you going to be home, Kou?”

“Um, about an hour. I have to stop at the library first.”

Daichi nods slowly, thinking. “I’m gonna try calling him, okay? I’ll call you in a bit. I might need you to let me in to your place.”

“What? Oh, um, yeah. Just let me know.”

“Thanks, Kou. I’ll talk to you later.”

Daichi pulls the phone away from his ear, clicking it off. He contemplates what it is that he wants to say exactly, opening up his text messaging conversation with Yuuji.

 **Daichi:** I really need to talk with you, Yuuji.

 **Daichi:** I’m sorry if I overstepped. I’m not going to say anything that you don’t want me to

 **Daichi:** You can trust me, please. I just want to talk to you.

He presses the call button, trying to get to hear his voice, but it goes straight to voicemail.

 **Daichi:** Yuuji if you don’t answer me I’m going to come over

 **Daichi:** I will bring Ryuu who can pick the lock to your bedroom.

 **Daichi:** I’m pretty sure he can, anyway.

 **Daichi:** I don’t want to have to find out – I care about you. Let me be your friend.

He sighs, resisting the urge to throw his phone on the floor again. He instead grabs his dishes and Koushi’s, putting his energy into scrubbing the dishes relentlessly until they’re practically sparkling.

He goes back to his phone, which is without answer.

 **Daichi:** I’m not giving up on you, Yuuji.

He huffs, heading to his bedroom. He peels off his jeans, switching into a more comfortable pair of black sweatpants and a warm, gray hoodie. He crawls into his bed, pulling out his phone.

He’s determined

 **Daichi:** I’m giving you ten minutes to answer or I’m banging on your door.

And he waits.

He rolls over, burying his face in his pillow.

He counts the seconds – he tries to think of something other than Yuuji, but he can’t.

All he can see is how bruised and battered he was. How hollow and empty he looked at the hospital.

All he can feel is how desperately he wants to prevent that from ever happening again.

His phone buzzes and his heart stops.

He grabs his phone at the speed of light, opening it up.

Finally, _finally_ , he gets a reply from Yuuji.

 **Yuuji:** Fine. I’ll open the door.

 **Yuuji:** You have twenty minutes before I lock the door again.

Daichi freezes. His car is at school, fuck, fuck fuck-

“Daichi?” It’s Koushi, bless his beautiful heart. “Everything okay? You went pretty quiet.”

Daichi jumps up, stumbling out of his room. “Yuuji. He-he-he answered me! I… I-I have to go!”

“Hey, stop, take a breath.” Koushi puts a hand on his shoulder, preventing him from moving any further. “What did he say?”

“He said… twenty minutes… I-I-my car is at school! I can’t…”

“Just relax, I’ll give you a ride, okay?”

Daichi nods reflectively. “Okay. T-thank you, Koushi.”

Koushi offers him a soft smile. “You’re my best friend, it’s basically my job, right? Now grab your stuff and lets go.”

Daichi nods, grabbing his phone, wallet and keys – almost forgetting the latter if not for Koushi’s reminder – and he goes to the door to put on his shoes. He first puts them on the wrong feet, and then realizes he’s got _mismatched_ shoes… he finally manages to put on a matching pair on the right feet just as Koushi gets his on and grabs his keys and helmets.

“Let’s go.”

They leave the apartment and Koushi hands him a helmet, which he fits securely on his head. He stumbles out behind his friend, to the parking lot, where Koushi keeps his motorcycle parked.

“Careful,” Koushi warns as he gets on his bike. He puts on his helmet, sticking the keys in the ignition as Daichi fits himself behind him. Only when he’s holding on to Koushi does he realize that he’s shaking. Hard.

“Just try to calm down on the way, okay? It’s going to do no good if you’re freaking out, too.”

Daichi nods, but he’s numb. He focuses on gripping on to Koushi and staying steady.

Soon enough, they’re on the road.

It’s cool and Daichi is always surprised at how cold it is on the motorcycle, with the wind whipping at them from either side. He flexes his fingers, the feeling returning to his body as he breathes in deeply and wills himself to relax.

Thoughts begin to pour into his brain.

He’s answering, he’s okay.

How is he healing?

Is he mad at me?

He doesn’t have time for anything else as they’re turning on to Yuuji’s road, motorcycle whirring as Koushi pulls up to the main door of the building.

When did he tell Koushi where Yuuji lives? Daichi doesn’t even remember doing it. Did he ask Koutarou?

God, he has the best friends ever.

Daichi slips off the bike, pulling off his helmet. Koushi takes it from his hands with a nod.

“Thank you, Koushi,” he says quietly, almost a sniffle, but somehow he keeps his emotions from spilling out.

He nods. “There’s a café down the road. I’m gonna go and grab some coffee… if you need me, just call, okay?” He pulls Daichi into a hug, squeezing him tightly. “I’m here for you, you know that right?”

Daichi nods. “Yeah, I know.”

“Good.” Koushi pulls back, grinning as he punches Daichi in the arm. “Now get going.”

And so he does.

He’s up the stairs and knocking on the door before he even realizes that he’s right there, and Yuuji is so close.

He holds his breath as he waits for him to open the door.

It feels like _years_ pass, even though in reality it’s probably only ten or so seconds.

His heart is pounding so hard he can heart it in his ears.

Finally, _finally_ , after what must have been intended for torture, the door slides open.

Daichi catches a glimpse of Yuuji, and his heart drops when he sees just how tired that he looks.

His heart drops even further when their eyes lock and Yuuji’s eyes glisten with tears.

“Daichi,” he says softly.

Daichi reacts instinctively, stepping into the apartment. Lines of friendship be damned.

He pulls him into a hug, fitting Yuuji’s head into the crook of his neck.

“Yuuji,” he breathes, hoarsely, “I’m here.”

It’s like flicking a switch and everything that had been building up inside of Yuuji is released at once; a flood of emotions, and he reacts in the only way that he knows how.

He cries, fists balling up in Daichi’s shirt. His weight drops, and Daichi catches him.

“I got you,” Daichi repeats, like a mantra. “You’re safe now.”


	9. Comfort

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Daichi is expecting Yuuji to be mad at him for crossing a boundary line. He expects him to scream, shout maybe – to be angry.
> 
> He is not expecting to gather Yuuji up in his arms while he cries.
> 
> But that’s what he does – he holds him close, letting Yuuji wet his shirt with tears.

Daichi is expecting Yuuji to be mad at him for crossing a boundary line. He expects him to scream, shout maybe – to be angry.

He is not expecting to gather Yuuji up in his arms while he cries.

But that’s what he does – he holds him close, letting Yuuji wet his shirt with tears.

He’s never seen Yuuji show so much emotion before and it’s overwhelming, but he pushes that to the back of his mind. His needs aren’t important right now – the only thought going through his brain is _you have to protect him._

Yuuji cries until he has nothing left to give; until he feels so completely hollow and devoid of emotion. His sobs come out dry and heavy, his eyes red.

They stand in the doorway, for a time, before Daichi tightens his grip on Yuuji and starts to move them inside his apartment. Yuuji doesn’t resist, but he doesn’t help; he’s gone completely limp, cries beginning to morph into soft sniffles.

Daichi manages to half-drag, half-pull Yuuji towards the couch where they fall in a heap. He takes a moment to rearrange their position; him sitting upright on the couch, Yuuji with his legs over Daichi’s lap so that he can curl into his side. Daichi wraps his arms around Yuuji, allowing the blonde to bury his face into the crook of his neck. It’s intimate and way beyond friendship and Daichi knows this – but he also knows it’s what Yuuji needs so he absolutely could not care any less.

He draws circles on Yuuji’s back, slow and comforting, allowing silence to envelop them. He doesn’t want to push things – he doesn’t want to push Yuuji - especially after what happened when he opened up last time. He’s scared that if he messes up again, he won’t get a third chance.

He has no idea how much time has passed. Five minutes? Ten? An hour? Finally, Yuuji is quiet, his breathing regulated. He pulls back his face, taking a deep breath.

Daichi allows himself to brush tears from Yuuji’s cheeks with his thumbs and brings up a hand to rest on his face.

“Daichi,” Yuuji breathes, softly, voice still quivering. One of his hands comes up to press against Daichi’s and keep his palm resting against his cheek. “Daichi, I’m sorry.”

Daichi gives him a look of pure confusion. He’s the one who messed up, who pushed – why is _Yuuji_ sorry? “You don’t have to be. I’m sorry that I pushed you.”

Yuuji shakes his head, “I… I’m scared, Daichi. I was scared, and I still am, and I took that out on you. It wasn’t fair. You…. You were just being a great friend and worrying about me.”

Daichi’s chest tightens up.

“I…” Yuuji bites his lip, “I’m scared… I’m too big of a coward to tell anyone what happened…  I had to talk about what he did once already, in court and…. And it was so terrifying. I still dream about it sometimes.”

Daichi lets his hand stay resting on the blonde’s cheek, and brushes his thumb against his skin comfortingly. He doesn’t interrupt – it’s clear Yuuji is not done.

“It was awful, Daichi. I…  I don’t think I _can_ do it again. Doing it again would mean I’d have to talk to my brother, too, and… I don’t know if I’m ready to do that.”

Daichi nods slowly; he can’t say that he understands what Yuuji is feeling, but seeing the look in his eyes… he can surely empathize. “You haven’t seen your brother since… all that happened?”

Yuuji shakes his head. “No. I guess I should tell you the story from the beginning, eh?”

“Only if you want to.”

“I do.” Yuuji adjusts his position, moving to sit beside Daichi rather than half on his lap. He wants to be able to look at his face while talking. He crosses his legs, but keeps their hands pressed together – he holds Daichi’s hand between both of his – not yet ready to break their physical contact.

“Want something to drink, first?” Daichi asks, hearing how hoarse Yuuji’s voice is. When he receives a nod, he gets up, pulling away to fill a glass with ice and water.

It gives him a moment to splash some cold water on his face. Is he ready to hear all this?

Probably not, but Yuuji wants to tell him, and he wants to be able to offer some sort of comfort to his friend.

He returns with the glass of water, handing it to Yuuji, who drinks half of it in one go. He swallows and puts the cup down on the coffee table. He turns back to Daichi, laying a hand out palm-up.

There’s no explanation needed – Daichi threads their fingers together, and Yuuji squeezes his hand.

“Okay, well. It kind of started not long after my mom died. I was fourteen at the time, and she got really sick. Brain cancer. The treatments weren’t working, and it happened really fast… my dad couldn’t deal, I guess. He was never father of the year, but he didn’t start getting physical with us until after that.” He lets out a sigh, looking down. His thumb brushes lines over the back of Daichi’s hand, eyes watching the movement. “It was… mostly me. I was rebelling and it was his way to keep me in line. Or at least, try to. It just made me even more angry. I… did some stupid shit, Daichi, but I didn’t realize how wrong what he was doing was until he broke my wrist.”

Daichi sucks in a breath, nodding to show that he’s listening. He has to dig his fingernails into the palm of his free hand to keep his emotions in check.

“That made my little brother mad. He’s four years younger than me, and my dad mostly left him alone, but when I was in the hospital getting fit for a cast they were at home and he yelled at him. My dad beat him so bad, Daichi. I got home and his nose was _still_ bleeding. His face was swollen. I wanted to beat the shit out of my dad, but I had to protect my brother. I took him and we left.”

Yuuji hasn’t mentioned his brother up until now and Daichi is starting to understand why.

“Long story short, we ended up at my aunt’s house for a bit. I was sixteen, I had no idea what I was doing. My dad tried to get us to come home… He tried to _force_ us… My aunt was so meek… I went to my friend’s house – Kazuma – and his parents convinced me to go to the police. We had to make statements. It was awful. My brother cried. I think he knew that it was what we had to do, but it was still hard. He’s always going to be our dad even if I hate him. I wondered a lot about what I’d done wrong. What I could have done differently to protect my brother from that.”

“I had to agree to testify – to _see him_ in court… he looked like he was ready to kill me that day. If he weren’t in cuffs, I’m sure he would have jumped the bench and tried to strangle me. I swore to myself that I wouldn’t let that happen again… I wouldn’t fail my brother again…” He swallows thickly. “And here I am… I tried once, Daichi. I don’t think that anything good will come of doing it again. I want to forget – I want to forget him; I want to forget _everything_. It hurts so much.”

Daichi nods, slowly, drawing Yuuji in a little bit closer so that their legs are touching, both hands linked now. “I can only imagine how terrifying that must have been, Yuuji. But… it was _brave_ for you to do it. And you protected your brother from getting hurt by him again.”

Yuuji breathes deeply, nodding.

“You still want to protect your brother, right?”

“Of course.” Yuuji nods. “I think about him a lot. I… I want to be in his life again, but I don’t know how.”

“Do you think he’s safe if you do nothing?” Daichi is pushing and he knows it, but – maybe what he needs is a little push. Here, in his own apartment with their hands linked, he has nowhere to run to.

Yuuji is quiet for a moment before finally admitting, “No. No, he’s not.”

He gets a nod in response. “If you say something, it might be the push needed to protect your brother.”

The blonde bites his lip. “I don’t know if I can, Daichi.”

“I’m going to support you either way, okay?”

Yuuji nods, staying quiet.

“Yuuji, look at me. I’m not going anywhere, okay? No matter what you decide – I’m here. I just want you to think about it.” Daichi releases one of his hands to grab his chin, lifting his face up so that their gazes lock.

Yuuji looks like he might cry again, but he swallows it and nods. “Okay.”

“Please don’t shut me out again, Yuuji.”

His grip tightens around Daichi’s hand and he nods again. “Okay. I…. I don’t know what I’m going to decide, but I promise you I’ll think about it carefully, okay?”

“That’s all I want.” Daichi offers him a soft smile. “Now, you look like you’ve barely moved at all in the last twenty-four hours.”

“That would be pretty accurate.”

Daichi chuckles, “how about I run you a bath and then you can have some dinner, okay?”

“Okay.”

Daichi moves to get up, but Yuuji doesn’t want to let go of his hand. His grip is firm, leaving Daichi to pull uselessly.

“I’ll be right back. I promise.”

Yuuji lets go.

He trusts him, and that means the world to Daichi.

He’s quick about what he needs to do. He heads to Yuuji’s bathroom – damn, he’s spent a _lot_ of time here both times now that he’s come over – and moves to turn on the water in his tub. He lets it run, filling the tub up with hot water. He looks around the bathroom a bit before he finds some sort of bath something or other – but it smells nice and comforting, like eucalyptus, so he pours a capful under the stream of running water. He checks to make sure a towel is out, waiting in the bathroom until the tub is ready.

He has no _idea_ how to even begin to sort out the mess of emotions that he’s feeling.

He’s sad, so incredibly and heartfelt, by seeing how hurt Yuuji is. Hearing his story was hard, harder than he had imagined that it would be.

He’s angry. How could he not be? He wants to run Yuuji’s dad over with his car. Twice, for good measure.

Yet, through all of that – he’s happy. He feels a little guilty about it, because what the fuck does he have to be happy about?

But Yuuji _trusts him_.

He opened up to him.

He told him something he’s been keeping close to his heart for many, many years.

And suddenly it hits Daichi like a ton of bricks: he likes Yuuji.

Oh, god.

He blushes at the realization, despite being totally alone. His heart races as he realizes just how much he wants to hug and cuddle him. But it’s more than that – he wants to see him smile, and kiss him, and learn everything about him, including mapping out the landscape that is Yuuji-

There’s nothing ‘no homo’ about the things that he wants to do.

He jumps with a start, realizing the tub is almost full. He quickly shuts it off, trying to cool the blush on his face. When nothing works – even his trick that can kill any boner, thinking about that time he ran over a cat on the highway – he splashes cool water on his face.

He decides that it’s not that obvious, not in the mirror anyway, so he turns on his heel to head out in to the living room to fetch Yuuji.

Who is sitting on the couch, waiting for him, right where he left him.

“It’s ready,” Daichi says with a small nod to Yuuji. He grabs his glass, filling it up with more water before going to move to the bathroom.

When Yuuji doesn’t move he closes the distance between them and offers him a hand. “Come on, a warm bath always makes me feel better.”

The blonde nods, watching Daichi closely and intently as he takes his hand, their fingers lacing together. The latter feels a little bit embarrassed under his watchful eye, but he says nothing as he walks him to the bathroom.

He opens the door, letting Yuuji in. “I-I-I, um. I’m gonna start something for you to eat. But I’ll come back and knock to check on you, okay?”

Yuuji nods. “Okay.” He says nothing more, just starts to peel off his shirt, so Daichi takes the initiative to leave the bathroom as fast as he can and shut the door.

Sighing to himself, he tries to process what he’s just realized.

He likes Yuuji.

He _likes_ Yuuji.

Then he pushes those thoughts to the back of his mind because right now he’s here to be Yuuji’s friend and his support system. He can sort out his mess of feelings later.

He heads to the kitchen, rummaging around in the fridge. He finds some leftover chicken and pasta, which he takes the time to cut up and toss in a dish to warm up in the oven.

He sets it low, not wanting to rush Yuuji, and puts a timer on too just in case he gets a little distracted.

Suddenly he freezes – he hasn’t texted Koushi yet. He hopes it hasn’t been too long and that he’s not still sitting and waiting to hear from him, so he fishes his phone out of his pocket to open up the conversation with him.

 **Koushi:** hey, I checked and see you made it in, let me know how it goes okay?

 **Koushi:** I met w/ koutarou and he’s gonna come hang out w/ me

 **Daichi:** ty so much koushi.

 **Koushi:** is he gonna be okay?

 **Daichi:** I hope so.

Sighing and running a hand through his hair, Daichi heads back to the bathroom. Gingerly, he knocks on the door twice to get Yuuji’s attention.

“Hey, Yuuji?”

He hears a soft reply. “Yeah?”

Daichi relaxes at the sound of his voice. He slowly slides down to a sitting position, getting comfortable in front of the door. “Thanks for letting me in.”

Yuuji laughs, “Thanks for coming even though I was being a brat.”

“You have every right to be.”

He chuckles again and Daichi hears some splashing. “This was a good idea. I do feel better.”

“I told you.”

“Yeah, yeah, you’re the almighty source of wisdom and knowledge, I get it. I’ll remember that next time.”

“You’d do good to.”

“Or else what? Shall I be lynched?”

Daichi laughs, closing his eyes and they talk. It’s just like before – easy, relaxing. He feels like this could go on forever – and honestly, he would be happy if they stayed this close forever.

He crosses his arms, and doesn’t think of anything else other than this moment.

“Hm, I think I’m done,” Yuuji calls from the bathroom and Daichi hears some splashing around.

“Okay, food should be almost ready. I’ll go check on it. Just come out when you’re ready.”

Yuuji hums in reply so Daichi gets up and heads to the kitchen. He beats the timer by two minutes so he checks on the food, which feels nice and hot. He takes his time in getting it into a bowl for Yuuji, pouring him some more ice water to keep him hydrated, especially after that hot bath.

He hears some movement and turns to see Yuuji coming in. He’s wearing some pyjamas now – just a pair of gray pyjama pants and a black shirt, and his hair looks mostly dry. He looks more relaxed now, the lines on his face softer and smoother. Daichi turns back, finishing up what he was doing.

“Hungry?” Daichi asks, but it’s really just for conversation. Yuuji is eating if he has to force it on him.

“Yeah, I am.”

“Good.”

Daichi turns, but Yuuji is already behind him. They’re standing dangerously close – only centimeters separating their faces. Daichi breathes, slowly, but the blonde just keeps his gaze on him loosely.

Then Yuuji reaches over Daichi and grabs his bowl and glass, turning to go and sit at the kitchen island. He wastes no time, which is encouraging, and digs in to the food on his plate with urgency. It’s clear he hasn’t eaten all day, maybe not since last night even, by the way he’s going at it now.

Daichi refills his water once, waiting for him to finish it, before taking away his dishes.

“Daichi, I can-“

“I got it,” he assures, dropping them into the sink. He runs some water to wash them quickly. “It’s just two, I bet you take forever to wash dishes anyway.”

Yuuji chuckles, but doesn’t fight any more. He sips his water, looking at the clock.

“Man, it’s only eight but I’m exhausted.” He sounds surprised – and probably is, since he’s used to staying up much later.

“Want to go to bed then?” Daichi asks as he dries the bowl. He pauses, and then rephrases. “Want me to stay over?”

Silence surrounds them as Yuuji looks down, and then back up at Daichi.

“Yeah, I do.”

And so he does.

He quickly finishes with the dishes, putting them away, and grabs a water for himself. He guides Yuuji up with a hand on his arm and takes him back to his bedroom.

This time, there isn’t any hesitation.

Daichi drops their cups on his nightstand and wastes no time crawling into bed. He finds a comfortable spot under the covers, settling in and resting his head back against the pillows.

Yuuji takes a moment to take in the scene before him. To take in Daichi in his bed, Daichi here for him, Daichi _caring about him_.

It’s all too much to process so he just slides into bed next to him. He doesn’t have to do anything else as Daichi reaches, pulling him in against his chest. Daichi loops his arms around Yuuji’s waist, resting comfortably on his hips, while Yuuji buries his head against his chest. He lets out a small sigh, comfortable and relaxed.

Their legs tangle together and breathing softens.

Daichi rubs circles on his lower back, mumbling, “Good night, Yuuji.”

Yuuji breathes in, and out.

His emotions are threatening to overflow but having Daichi with him is keeping him grounded; safe.

“Good night, Daichi.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope this makes up for the angst ♥♥ thank you for reading, and for all of the encouraging comments! They're keeping me so motivated :)


	10. Test-Run

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The next week passes by so quickly that Daichi barely even has time to think about it.
> 
> For some reason, the night that he shares with Yuuji doesn’t make things awkward between them.

The next week passes by so quickly that Daichi barely even has time to think about it.

For some reason, the night that he shares with Yuuji doesn’t make things awkward between them.

Daichi wakes up slowly, yawning. He tries to stretch his legs, only to be met with resistance – warm, comfortable resistance.

 _Yuuji_.

Not thinking, Daichi reaches blindly, eyes still closed, to pull Yuuji in closer.

The blonde doesn’t resist; more than that, he burrows in closer until his face is completely pressed up against the side of Daichi’s neck. They remain like that, half-awake, breathing softly, until Daichi’s alarm finally jolts them both awake.

“Fuck, I have class,” Yuuji mumbles, pulling away and blinking blearily.

“Me, too.” Daichi sighs. “Next year I swear I’m not having any morning classes.”

“Next year is our last year, though, so after that it’s the dreaded… _workforce_ …”

Daichi shudders. “I know, right?”

“You want to borrow something to wear?” Yuuji asks as he climbs out of bed to pull a fresh change of clothes out of his dresser for himself. “Or do you have time to go home?”

“No, I won’t. I don’t have my car so we’ll just barely make the bus.”

Yuuji nods, digging through his drawers. He tosses him a pair of black sweatpants and a dark green t-shirt. “That should work.”

“I…I, um…” Daichi looks down awkwardly at the clothes in his hands, looking back up at Yuuji with a blush on his face.

“I’m gonna go wash up and brush my teeth.” Yuuji grabs his own clothes, a pair of simple blue jeans and an orange shirt and he leaves the room, giving Daichi a moment to get dressed.

Daichi pauses and breathes; he’s trying not to blush about the fact that the guy he likes just gave him clothes to wear and they shared a bed and oh my god-

Then Daichi’s _secondary_ alarm goes off, reminding him they only have a half an hour before their 8:30 a.m. classes start.

He changes quickly, pulling off his own clothes and putting on Yuuji’s. They feel cool against his skin, but they smell just like Yuuji’s apartment. It’s nice and relaxing; it almost makes him feel like they never got out of bed, and could stay cuddling in there for the entire day.

He pulls on the sweatpants, realizing he needs some socks and grabs a pair from on top of Yuuji’s dresser. He’s just pulling them on his feet when Yuuji walks back in.

“There’s a cart pretty close to the bus stop near here that serves pretty fast; we can just grab something to eat on the bus there.” Yuuji fiddles for his backpack, slinging it over a shoulder.

Daichi is now so grateful that Koushi had him bring his bag – did he know that he would be staying over? So he grabs his, heading for the door.

Yuuji catches up with him, they step into their shoes and leave.

Daichi scrolls through his phone as they dash down the stairs, checking the time and seeing he’s got a few missed messages. He knows Koushi will understand, and that he can wait until he parts with Yuuji, so he pockets the phone and follows Yuuji down the street.

They’re both quiet, still sleepy from their sudden wake-up call, and Daichi is struck with the overwhelming urge to reach over and grab Yuuji’s hand.

He’s almost there – he’s close, thinking about, it reaching –

“Here it is,” Yuuji says, eyes focused on the cart. Daichi has to stumble to a stop to keep them from running into each other. Yuuji doesn’t notice - or if he does, he keeps quiet - just joining the line.

He wasn’t kidding about their speed – by the time Daichi has snapped out of his daze and is standing next to him they’re almost at the front of the line and he has just enough time to look up at the menu and decide what he’s having.

“What do you want?” Yuuji asks, pulling out his wallet. He counts some bills in it, shifting his weight from one foot to another.

“You don’t need to-“

“Stop it, I’m buying you breakfast and that’s all there is to it.”

Daichi freezes, and nods. “Okay. Um, you said the coffee’s good?”

“Yeah, I like their cold brew.”

“I’ll have that then, and a croissant?”

“Chocolate?”

“Yeah,” Daichi laughs.

“Knew it.” Yuuji chuckles. They make it to the front and he puts in their order, which they receive with very quick service. Yuuji hands Daichi his own cup and a little bag with his croissant when they’re ready, nodding to the bus stop. “Just in time – bus is here in three minutes.”

“Great,” Daichi nods, grateful for the distraction of eating and drinking as they get on the bus. They sit together on a long seat, quietly, the ride to school passing by quickly.

Daichi looks to Yuuji, ready to try and talk to him when the bus announces that the school is the next stop.

“I’ll text you later, okay?” Yuuji says, placing a hand on Daichi’s shoulder as they step off the bus and walk up to their school. Daichi can only nod, numbly, as Yuuji flashes him a smile and heads off towards the science building.

No, their shared night certainly doesn’t make things awkward between them.

Rather, it just sort of… becomes the norm for them. They don’t spend the night together (despite how much Daichi wants that), but they meet up for at least a little while each and every day. And when they’re together, the casual touches are enough to make Daichi’s head spin.

When they’re having coffee, they sit on the same side of a booth, shoulders touching. Yuuji will laugh and Daichi can _feel_ it, rippling through his entire body.

They’ll hang out between classes at the library when they both need to study and Yuuji will put his hand on Daichi’s shoulder so casually while telling him about what Koutarou did the night before and Daichi feels the spot on his body _burn_ white hot.

During their one class together they sit at the back of the room, Yuuji scrolling through tumblr and showing Daichi all the funniest memes he comes across, nudging him with his shoulder to get his attention. Daichi has a very hard time focusing on the lecture.

When he invites Daichi over for dinner, and makes food for him and Koutarou, Yuuji will let their feet press together under the table or will nudge him gently when he needs his attention.

They text, and while there’s no physical contact, Yuuji sends him countless SnapChats about his day, and something about seeing the blonde with his tongue sticking out is reassuring.

His friends refuse to stop bugging him about Yuuji and are constantly grilling him for information. Koushi is still the only person who has met him and Daichi keeps their friendship mostly private.

They both agree to do their best to do some advertising for their day at the café. Daichi meets up with his old high school buddy Kyoutani, who is always low-key mentioning his radio-host boyfriend Kenma and they agree to put an advertisement on the college radio station.

Yuuji advertises on his Instagram, where he apparently has a pretty big following but Daichi really has no clue what he’s talking about so he just smiles and nods.  

Soon enough it’s Sunday morning and Daichi is getting dressed, nervous yet also eager to meet up to test out the sales of their muffins. It feels like ages since they’ve worked on the project, despite the fact that it’s only been a few short weeks.

He rubs a towel in his hair, drying it off as best as he can while he checks his phone. It’s lit up with a few new messages, but he clicks on the one from Yuuji first.

 **Yuuji:** hey, are you excited yet?

 **Daichi:** ecstatic

 **Yuuji:** I figured as much. Working as a waiter is really my life’s aspiration

 **Daichi:** I could have guessed as much, since you really need a degree in business to get into that industry nowadays

 **Yuuji:** I know, right?

 **Daichi:** What should I be wearing?

 **Yuuji:** he’s got uniform shirts for us so just wear a plain white t-shirt

 **Yuuji:** you know those pants you wore to class on Thursday?

 **Daichi:** the black slacks?

 **YuujI:** yeah… wear those.

 **Daichi:** why?

 **Yuuji:** they’re form-fitting. They look good.

 **Yuuji:** and black shoes. Doesn’t matter which.

 **Daichi:** if you say so, Yuuji.

 **Yuuji:** I do. You trust me, right?

 **Daichi:** for some reason, yes. I do.

 **Yuuji:** Good. Then wear it.

 **Daichi:** fine

 **Yuuji:** And send me a snap of it

 **Daichi:** what? No you’ll see me in like half an hour

 **Yuuji:** just do it

 **Daichi:** ugh fine

Daichi rolls his eyes, walking over to his mirror. He’s no selfie expert like Yuuji, so he uses the mirror to snap a picture of him wearing the outfit that Yuuji has requested.

 **Daichi:** good?

 **Yuuji:** good.

 **Daichi:** alright, see you there.

He puts his phone away, checking himself in the mirror once more.

He looks good. He feels good. He feels _ready_.

Grabbing his keys, Daichi leaves the quiet of his apartment for what will become a very interesting day.

* * *

Yuuji and his uncle look absolutely nothing alike.

Daichi arrives early and his uncle is there to greet him, shortly before eight in the morning. He gives him a quick tour of the building, showing him the back room where he will be, cooking, the break room and a quick tour of the café.

It’s not too big so it shouldn’t be too difficult for the two of them to manage. There’s about two dozen tables spread out fair spaciously, with a large counter at the front where all of the machines to make drinks are kept as well as the register for paying.

“You don’t need to worry about paying,” Terushima’s uncle, Goro, tells him. “Tobio will be here shortly, and he’ll work the till and prepare orders for you. You’ll just need to bring them out.”

“Sounds good,” Daichi says with a nod.

“Here’s your shirt. Go put it on in the back then we’ll be ready to open.”

Daichi nods, taking the shirt. He slips off to the back room to put it on. It’s pretty simple, with the café’s logo on the front in black; the rest of the shirt is a medium, heathered purple. It’s not a colour he really wears much, but he doesn’t quite mind how it looks on him. He ties on a black apron on top and really looks the part.

He steps out, back into the main area and his face lights up in a smile when he sees Yuuji.

He’s already dressed and that shade of purple looks really good on him. Everything looks good, really – his face is totally healed, only the ghosting of some bruises just below his jaw line that is pretty hard to notice. He’s got colour in his face and has clearly been eating and sleeping properly, which is nice.

He’s laughing, ruffling the hair of someone who looks a bit younger than them. He’s got straight black hair and deep blue eyes, and he looks a little annoyed at Yuuji’s antics, although not surprised.

“Daichi!” Yuuji calls, walking over to rest his hand on his shoulder. “It’s good to see you. Are you ready to get started?”

“I think so.” Daichi laughs a little, looking past Yuuji at the kid. “I’m Daichi, nice to meet you,” he says, politely, offering his hand.

“Tobio.” That’s all the response he gets but he gets a handshake back and a polite nod. “Um, I work here.”

“Yeah, we know,” Yuuji laughs and elbows him playfully. “Tobio’s a little… socially awkward.”

“I-I am not!”

“Sure,” Yuuji laughs. “Let’s just get started so we can open up, yeah?”

Daichi nods. “Yes, lets.”

* * *

The doors open, music begins to play softly and Tobio is warming up all of the machines. He doesn’t ask for help but Daichi offers and winds up pouring more cold water and coffee into a huge jug to start on some cold brew coffee.

They only get about ten minutes of quiet time as the first rush of the day pops in: the morning rush.

It’s customer after customer and Daichi starts to feel like there’s no _way_ he can remember everything and get everyone’s orders right.

He chances a look at Yuuji who looks like he’s having no trouble at all.

He talks to the customers with ease, flashing them smiles and it’s impressive how strong his people skills are. Daichi isn’t bad, of course, but Yuuji just has to flash his charm and the customers are buying right in to his plan – that is quite literally, as he always offers them the muffins.

Daichi looks up just in time to see Koushi walking in alongside Yuu and Ryuu. They’re laughing, and choose a table on Yuuji’s side. It must be on purpose, of course, and Daichi can’t hear what they’re saying, but when Yuuji comes up to take their order it looks like Yuu and Ryuu are giving him the gears.

Daichi is ready to go over there and scold them, but – he looks at Yuuji, who looks undisturbed. He flashes them a grin and must be sassing them back, as Yuu and Ryuu are laughing and even Koushi spits out in a fit of giggles.

Daichi has to pull away to pick up some orders, heading to the counter to grab them from Tobio.

“Is it always this busy?” He asks as he counts the drinks, loading them up on a tray to carry.

“Yes,” Tobio nods. “It is.”

Daichi is about to respond, but-

“Hey, Daichi!” Koushi is at his side, grinning.

“Koushi, hey.” Daichi flashes him a smile, “I hope you guys aren’t being too hard on Yuuji.”

“We wouldn’t dream of it.”

“Right,” Daichi says, rolling his eyes. He turns back to the tray and notices Tobio, completely silent, red in the face and staring at Koushi.

_He really is socially awkward…_

“Oh, right. Koushi, this is Tobio, he acutally works here. Tobio, Koushi.”

Koushi turns his gaze, looking Tobio up and down, ending in a pleased grin. “Hey, Tobio. Nice to meet you.”

“Y-You too.”

“You’d better get back to it, Daichi,” Koushi says, nodding to the customers in the restaurant.

Daichi nods and heads off, but Koushi stays for some time, slowly engaging Tobio in conversation, loving the way his cheeks flush pink at the attention he’s being given.

* * *

The morning rush dies down and Daichi is about ready to sigh with relief. The café is quiet, giving him and Yuuji time to clean down the tables, sweep and catch up on stocking the baked goods.

That is until Tooru and Hajime come in hand-in-hand. He doesn’t notice them at first as they take a seat and Yuuji heads over to serve them, speaking easily with the two. When Yuuji goes to put in their order with Tobio, Daichi heads over to say hello.

“Hey, Hajime, Tooru. I didn’t expect you to come by.”

Hajime laughs. “Are you serious?”

“Well, we _had_ to come out and check out the guy you’re so interested in.” Tooru grins until Hajime kicks him in the shin. “And support you and your business, of course.”

“Mhm,” Daichi hums, chuckling a bit. “So….” He looks away, blushing.

“You want to know our thoughts?”

Daichi laughs. “Yeah.” Not that it would make or break his friendship with Yuuji, but… they’re his friends. Daichi really wants them to like Yuuji.

“He’s really cute,” Tooru admits. He looks around Daichi, to where Yuuji is helping Tobio clean out the espresso machine. “I like his hair.”

Daichi laughs, because what else did he expect from him? A serious answer?

“But really,” Hajime continues, “he seems… pretty cool. I was, to be honest… I don’t know, a little bit concerned, after everything that happened with him. But…” he shrugs, “he’s honest. He’s easy to talk to, and he obviously cares a lot about you. I like him.”

“Seriously, me too, Daichi.” Tooru grins and nods at him just as Yuuji comes back to their table with their order.

“Were you gossiping about me?” He asks, voice light and teasing, side-eyeing Daichi.

“No, we-“

“Yes, of course we were,” Tooru replies, huffing. “Don’t worry, just good things.”

Yuuji laughs but nods. “Good, good, that’s fine.”

Daichi blushes and looks away, but he doesn’t miss the way Yuuji’s nose crinkles up when he smiles for real.

* * *

“Was there some sort of mass text sent out that I missed?” Daichi asks when Asahi and Shimizu both stop by for some take-out.

“No, but we wanted to see Yuuji in person,” Shimizu tells him, glancing over to see the blonde passing out cups of coffee. She appears to be judging him, trying to figure him out while he chats with Asahi who looks about ready to run away at any given moment.

Asahi returns, scratching the back of his neck. “He was really nice to me.”

“Well, of course,” Daichi laughs, “he’s a nice person.”

“Mhm,” Shimizu nods, taking her cup from Tobio who just stammers something that might be ‘have a nice day’. “He looks fine. See you later, Daichi.”

* * *

Thankfully, it isn’t just Daichi’s friends who come to visit.

In the late afternoon, Koutarou waltzes in with a few other guys that Daichi doesn’t recognize. There’s one with messy brown hair and a lazy smirk, one with black hair and big, dark eyes and another with brown hair spiked up. They’re chatting and laughing, taking a seat in the middle of the café.

It’s not busy, so Daichi heads over to take their order.

“Hey, Koutarou, thanks for coming by,” he smiles as he pulls out a pad of paper and a pen.

“Daichi!” Koutarou grins, standing up to pull him into a hug. He’s so tactile, but it’s Koutarou, so nobody seems to care. “Good to see you! How are things going here?”

“Really good, actually. We only have about a dozen left.”

“How many did you start with?”

“About twelve dozen.”

Koutarou whistles, impressed. “Nice!” His phone rings, and he picks it up, walking off to the side. “Hey, Tetsu!” He grins as he talks animatedly to him.

“So you must be Daichi!” The brunet offered him a cheesy grin. “I’m Kazuma. Yuuji has told me a lot about you.”

Daichi nods, as the one with the black hair introduces himself. “I’m Takeharu, and this is Katsumichi.” He points a thumb towards the one with spiky brown hair.

“I grew up with Yuuji, and these two have known him since first year,” Kazuma clarifies. Daichi nods – he remembers him from when Yuuji told him about his past. Kazuma… his friend he and his brother stayed with for a time, and the one who drove him to the hospital.

Putting a face to the name feels good, despite the uncomfortable churning in his stomach at remembering how hurt Yuuji was that night.

“Yuuji has been talking a whole lot more,” Takeharu remarks, to which the others nod.

“I know, right? He’s totally crazy about-“

“Guys!” Yuuji creeps up behind them, throwing his hands on the booth loudly. “I didn’t notice you come in!”

“That was the point, bro,” Koutarou huffs.

“You have absolutely no chill.”

Yuuji laughs, rolling his eyes as he chastises his friends before begrudgingly agreeing to get them the coffees and muffins they’ve requested.

* * *

“And, we are done!” Goro emerges from the kitchen where Daichi isn’t completely convinced he hasn’t spent the last hour napping, with how quiet it’s been.

Yuuji looks up from where he’s wiping down a table with a smirk on his face. “We sold every last one!”

Goro nods, walking over to where they’d set up the display. It was completely empty now, nothing but a few crumbs left. Daichi and Yuuji hadn’t even gotten to eat one, but they did make sure Tobio got one when he took a break for lunch. “Yeah, you did. What was the customer reaction like?” He turns to Tobio and Daichi, apparently not expecting to get a real answer from Yuuji.

“Hey, I-“

“T-They liked them a lot! I had a lot of people asking me if we would have them again,” Tobio answers over Yuuji, apparently used to having to deal with his antics. Daichi stifles a chuckle at this.

“I kept a tally of how many people asked, actually,” Daichi says, reaching into his apron and pulling out a small pad of paper where he has been keeping track of how well they’re doing. He hands it over to Goro who looks at it curiously.

“That’s a great idea, actually.” He flips to the next free piece of paper, scribbling in some equations. “Okay, we charge this much…” He notes a number down, pursing his lips, “and owe you this much for them…” He writes quickly, and the math is almost instantaneous. “We need to sell this many to make a profit… Yeah, that’s definitely doable.”

“So?” Yuuji asks, coming up to the counter.

“So, I believe this is what they call striking a business deal.” Goro grins, holding his hand out to Daichi.

“Pleasure doing business with you.” Daichi smiles happily as they shake hands.

* * *

“That was awesome!” Yuuji grins wickedly as they leave the store. He taps Daichi’s shoulder, excitedly, which earns him a warm smile from Daichi. God, he has it so bad for the blonde, even just that tiny touch has his body warm and relaxed.

“I know, we did pretty well.”

“Are we gonna be able to keep up with what we need?”

“Yeah,” Daichi nods. “I’m going to go and grab some groceries then get back to my apartment to finish up.”

“Okay,” Yuuji nods. “I have an assignment to go and finish but I’ll text you, okay?”

“Sounds good.” Daichi smiles, letting his hand rest on Yuuji’s arm for a little bit longer than totally necessary. “I’ll see you, okay?”

“Okay.”

He turns to leave, heading over to the parking lot. He grabs his keys from his pocket before turning, looking over his shoulder one time before heading into his car.

He’s happy to see that Yuuji is watching him leave.

* * *

Yuuji can’t help but grin as he walks away from the café. He’s happy – so happy.

Things with Daichi are going amazingly well, and even if Daichi doesn’t know how he feels about him… that’s okay. It’s okay because they still care about each other, they still spend so much time together and he still feels so connected to him.

He feels things with Daichi that he hadn’t expected to feel… ever. He makes him happy, makes him feel safe, light, _cared for_ … it’s new and it’s something that he really can’t get enough of. He wants Daichi to know how he feels _so badly_ , but he’s not willing to do it and risk this friendship that they have.

If it means keeping Daichi by his side, getting to hug him and touch him easily like they have been… and maybe some cuddles every now and then? He’s willing to wait, and he’s willing to keep his feelings to himself. He’ll have Daichi in his dreams, anyway.

He stops at the bus stop where his phone begins to buzz.

He pulls it out of his pocket curiously.

“A phone call? Who calls…”

The caller ID read _Unknown Name, Unknown Number._

“Weird,” he mumbles, but he picks it up anyway. “Hello?”

“Yuuji?” The voice on the other end makes Yuuji’s heart sink. It’s deep, and low and it makes him sit a little straighter.

His heart races and his throat goes dry. He can’t talk and struggles to breathe properly.

“Yuuji, are you there? It’s… it’s your father.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Every chapter gets closer to the end and while I'm so excited to write it and share it, I'm already starting to feel sad about it! I hope you enjoyed, thank you so much to everyone who reads and comments. You all keep me going!!! I love you so much ♥♥
> 
> And as always, a special thank you to Frenchibi. You inspired this fanfiction and you always make sure to inspire me to keep on going and make this even bigger and better than I originally planned!
> 
> Also this may or may not be becoming "how many rarepairs can I toss into one story" and I love it


	11. Change

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Daichi looks down, checking his grocery list.
> 
> “Oatmeal… got it, more flour… got that, chocolate chips, yup… apples, got em…” He squints before turning on his heel. “Just need frozen blueberries now.”
> 
> His phone rings in his pocket, a familiar tune that he’s heard plenty of times now set to one of his friends – he picks it up immediately, putting the phone to his ear.
> 
> “Hey, Tetsu,” he says, turning down the frozen aisle. “How’s it going?”

Daichi looks down, checking his grocery list.

“Oatmeal… got it, more flour… got that, chocolate chips, yup… apples, got em…” He squints before turning on his heel. “Just need frozen blueberries now.”

His phone rings in his pocket, a familiar tune that he’s heard plenty of times now set to one of his friends – he picks it up immediately, putting the phone to his ear.

“Hey, Tetsu,” he says, turning down the frozen aisle. “How’s it going?”

“Daichi!” Tetsurou sounds excited on the other end. “It’s going great. Fantastic. Wonderful.”

“That’s a lot of adjectives, Tetsu.”

“Hell yeah it is!”

Daichi laughs, “what’s got you in such a good mood?”

“Well, it’s-“

“Oh no wait let me guess,” Daichi interrupts. “Koutarou, right?”

A sheepish laugh rings from the other end of the line. “That obvious, huh?”

“Oh yeah. You are so smitten, Tetsu.”

“Well, you know what, my dude? I am totally cool with that.”

“So what did he do to get you in such high spirits?” Daichi asks he spots the display of frozen fruit. He picks up a bag of blueberry, checking the price.

“He’s just… he’s just _Kou_ , you know.”

Daichi snorts. “I know. It’s like he’s on overdrive all the time, but in a good way.”

“Mhm.”

“And he gives really good hugs too.”

“Exactly! Hey, wait-no fair! I wanna be hugging Kou!”

“Well when are you coming to visit again? Or is he going to come and see your campus sometime soon?” Daichi heads to the till, choosing the self check-out so that he can easily continue his phone conversation.

“He’s coming to see me next month for a long weekend.” Tetsurou sighed, “but I just miss him so much!”

“He misses you, too. He lights up when you call.”

“Really?”

“Mhm.”

“How exactly does he light up?”

“The usual way?”

“Which is…?”

Daichi rolls his eyes, finishing scanning the last of his items. “He looks really happy. Like, more so than usual. It’s like he can’t contain his smiles.”

There’s some movement on the other line – he must be in bed, Daichi figures, hearing his blankets rustle – and then “Oh so is that how you look at Yuuji?”

“W-What? Where did you get that idea?’

“So it’s true!” Tetsurou chuckles. “I only got it from everyone. Our group chat is lit up pretty much all day about you two.”

“Group chat?”

“Daichi,” he sighs, “you’re _in_ it. Man, when are you going to stop being so hopeless with technology?”

He ignores that comment. “And… what is everyone saying?”

“That they all got to see him today and I didn’t!” He whines. “Can you at least send me a picture, or direct me to his Facebook page or something? I tried stalking for him but didn’t find anything.”

“Um,” Daichi loads his bags on one arm, “I don’t know if he has Facebook, but I can send you his Instagram? I think he sent me his username a while ago…”

“Perfect! According to Tooru, he has ‘a super cute blonde undercut’ and Noya pointed out that he has a tongue ring? Is that all that he has pierced, Daichi?”

“I’m hanging up now.” Daichi has to hold back the blush on his cheeks as he unlocks his car.

Tetsurou just laughs. “Fine, fine, you’re not there yet. But once you know you have to tell me.”

“If I agree, will you stop bugging me about it?’

“Sure.”

“Fine, then.”

“With pictures, of course,” he snickers.

“Goodbye, Tetsu.”

“Bye, Daichi!”

He hangs up, shaking his head.

Yet, he can’t help but smile at the thought of his friends liking Yuuji.

* * *

As soon as Daichi gets home, he gets to work. He has a lot of baking to do and he wants to get a good start on it this evening so that they can have a good amount ready for tomorrow to send to the café.

Their agreement has them bringing over goods Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, so they at least get a break two days a week, and on the weekdays the amount they need to bring over is lower. It’s definitely manageable and will be even easier when Yuuji gets the last of his homework out of the way and can come over to help him prepare them.

“It smells _good_ in here!” Koushi calls from the doorway when he makes his way home late in the evening.

Daichi rubs the back of his hand on the apron tied securely around his waist. It’s one that was given to him by Ryuunosuke that reads _The Boss_.

“Well I’d hope so; I’ve only spent like the last three hours making muffins.” Daichi chuckles, stepping out into the hallway. “You’re home late.”

“Yeah, well.” Koushi laughs as he takes off his shoes. “I had a date.”

“A date?” Daichi raises an eyebrow. Koushi goes on dates periodically, of course, but he has been focusing more on his school work this year and Daichi has no idea who it could be with.

“Yup.” Koushi spins into the kitchen, opening the fridge to grab out some juice. “With Tobio.”

“Tobio?” Daichi stops, thinking back. He was pretty busy, but thinking about it now he _does_ remember them talking for quite a long time. “How did it go?”

“Really great. He’s so cute. He’s only a first-year, and he’s here on a sports scholarship.”

Daichi pauses. “I’m really happy for you, Koushi. You deserve to be happy.”

“Don’t go getting too sappy on me, Daichi, it was only one date.”

“That you _liked_. I remember your last date.”

Koushi shivers. “Let’s not recall that. I don’t know what was worse – the fact that he was an hour late or the whole milkshake incident.”

“It’s so awkward whenever I see him on campus.”

“It’s awkward for _you_?” Koushi laughs, “It’s so awkward for me, I can’t even meet his eye.”

“Well, Tobio doesn’t seem like he’s got any super strange kinks.”

“And if he does, I think I’d be okay with that. I mean have you seen his eyes?” Koushi sighs, dropping to the kitchen table.

“Have you reverted back to fifteen?”

“Maybe. Think Taylor Swift will write a song about me?”

“No, you’re way too gay for her.”

Koushi snorts. “Good point. I’m exhausted though, so I’m going to bed. You going soon?”

“Yeah,” Daichi nods. He checks his phone, a little concerned that Yuuji hasn’t texted him yet, but he’s not letting it get to him.

Yuuji trusts him – he knows that – and if something is wrong, he’ll come to him. Daichi believes that.

So he finishes up, cleans up his mess and heads to bed.

He’s incredibly tempted to wear Yuuji’s shirt to bed but he manages to resist, instead crawling into bed in some fresh pyjamas.

He’s so tired he falls asleep as soon as his head hits the pillow.

* * *

_Never gonna give you up!_

_Never gonna let you down!_

_Never gonna run around and desert you!_

“What the fuck?” Daichi mumbles, rolling over in bed. His phone is going off but whose ringtone even is that? He did _not_ set that-

_Never gonna tell you lies!_

_Never gonna say goodbye!_

Daichi grabs his phone, hurriedly pressing the on button. “Hello?” He asks, groggily blinking awake.

“Daichi?”

He stirs, trying to adjust, but he recognizes the voice on the other end. “Yuuji?”

“Yeah. Sorry I’m calling so late.”

Daichi feels like he should be mad, it’s so late, but he can’t bring himself to be. “It’s okay,” he says, sitting up in bed. “Is everything okay?”

“Not really.” Yuuji sighs on the other end. “Can I come over?”

“Of course, I can come and pick you up.”

“You… you don’t need to do that. I’m kind of already here?”

Daichi slides out of bed, “did you walk here?”

“Um, yeah.”

“I-You-What?” Daichi shakes his head, _now_ he’s mad, how could he do something so dangerous? It’s late and he’s alone- “Just- wait where you are. I’ll come and let you in.”

“Okay,” he says quietly, as if he can tell Daichi’s thoughts. “Thank you.”

“Anytime, Yuuji. You know that.”

Daichi heads out his bedroom, slamming the door a little bit too loudly. He heads for the door and hears Koushi open up his door.

“Daichi? Is everything okay? I heard... a noise.”

“No, shit, I’m sorry I woke you up.” He sighs. “It’s Yuuji, he’s outside.”

Koushi nods. “Go get him, I’ll make something to drink.”

“Thank you.”

Daichi heads out, down the stairs to the front of his building.

True enough, Yuuji is standing there, waiting for him. He’s wearing a big black hoodie, his hands shoved into the pockets and a bright orange snapback.

Daichi pushes the door open. “Yuuji.”

Yuuji looks up and smiles softly. “Hey, Daichi.”

Daichi is struck with a lot of urges. He wants to punch him in the face, but he gives in to a different one – he pulls him into a hug.

“Fuck, you scared me, calling at this time.” Daichi squeezes him, not even caring as he nuzzles against the side of Yuuji’s face. “Are you okay?”

“I’m okay,” Yuuji nods, “but I need your help.”

“Come in.” Daichi pulls away, but keeps a hand on Yuuji’s forearm as he leads him up the stairs and into his apartment. He relaxes at having Yuuji in his apartment and _safe,_ but he’s still concerned.

However, Yuuji doesn’t look as distraught as before. Something must have happened, but… Daichi is really impressed at how he’s handling it. Yuuji takes a seat on the couch as Koushi pops his head out of the kitchen.

“Hey, Yuuji.”

“Koushi! I’m… fuck, I’m sorry I woke both of you up.”

Koushi shakes his head, “Don’t be. I’d much rather you come and wake us up than be alone.”

Yuuji nods, gratefully, leaning back into the couch.

“Want some hot chocolate?”

“Yeah, that’d be great.”

Koushi disappears back into the kitchen and Daichi joins Yuuji on the couch. He reaches out to grab his hand before realizing, “Jesus, Yuuji, you’re drenched.”

“Ah, yeah. It was raining, earlier?” He says, running a hand through his damp hair. Daichi couldn’t tell earlier as he’s dried off somewhat, but he’s clearly still pretty wet.

“Come on, I’ll lend you some clothes.” Daichi pulls him up, not waiting for an answer and pulls him back towards his bedroom. He leads Yuuji to his closet, standing him there while he searches for something for him to wear.

“Here, these should fit.” He hands him a pair of navy blue sweatpants and a plain white t-shirt. “And you can dry yourself off with this.” He tosses a fluffy blue towel on his bed, next to where Yuuji has left the clothes.

Daichi goes to leave, but Yuuji stops him with a hand on his arm. “Um, Daichi?”

“Yeah?”

“This is really embarrassing, but… this hoodie is soaked through, a-and it has been for a while… Um… I can’t lift it over my head by myself… My arms are frozen…” He looks away, blushing.

Daichi just huffs. “Jeez, what did you do to yourself, huh?” He reaches for the hem of the hoodie and pulls up, taking it off completely along with Yuuji’s shirt. He tosses it towards his door, where he can throw it in the dryer later to dry it off. “There.” He picks up the towel, draping it around his shoulders and ruffling it to dry him off a bit.

“Thanks. I can, uh, get the rest myself.”

“Come out when you’re ready,” Daichi nods, heading back into the living room.

Daichi drops down on the couch with a heavy sigh. He closes his eyes, rubbing at his temples as Koushi steps out of the kitchen and hands him a mug of hot chocolate. He puts one down for Yuuji and sips his own, sitting in his recliner.

Yuuji comes out a few moments later, dry and warm in Daichi’s clothes. He sits down on the couch next to him, sitting up and crossing his legs. Koushi hands him the mug of hot chocolate which he takes with a thanks.

Yuuji looks to Daichi, “Did you tell him?”

Daichi freezes, swallows, and, “I did, I’m sorry, Yuuji, I didn’t ask first-“

“It’s okay. I trust you, and if you trust him, then I’m okay with it. It just means I have less explaining to do now, right?”

He pauses, breathing in deeply. He sips at his drink, shifting to find a comfortable spot.

Daichi doesn’t push him, just waiting patiently until he’s ready.

Yuuji puts down his mug and drops his hand down in Daichi’s lap. Daichi wastes no time in threading their fingers together, thumb brushing against the back of his hand.

“Okay, well, my dad called me last night.”

“He-what?” Daichi squeezes Yuuji’s hand tighter, his stomach knotting uncomfortably.

“How did he get your phone number?” Koushi asks.

“I don’t know. I mean, it’s not like I’m unlisted.” He sighs, “He called and he said that he wants to meet me. Obviously I’m not stupid enough to say yes… but…” he looks away, and Daichi nods at him comfortingly. “what if he tries to contact my brother? I mean, he found my number so easily… my brother might not say no… he was so young and didn’t see the worst of it… he might think that he’s changed.”

Daichi is still trying to blink back his biting rage so Koushi takes the more logical, concerned approach. “Did he say anything else?”

“No, but I’m sure he’ll try to find him. And… fuck… this sounds so stupid, I know, but I don’t feel like his intentions are bad? I know it’s probably cause he’s my dad, but, I think he’s just not ready to be out, to be interacting like this. He needs… help, he needs limitations…”

Koushi nods thoughtfully.

With friends behind him, Yuuji finds it easier to talk about this than it ever has been.

And boy, do they talk.

Yuuji forces himself to talk about what might happen if he does something – and if he does nothing.

But in the end, there’s only one decision that he can come to.

“I have to talk to the police about what happened.”

Daichi is still quiet, but Koushi nods. “Are you sure, Yuuji? It won’t be easy.”

Slowly, he nods, squeezing Daichi’s hand. “Yeah, I know. But I’m not alone this time. Last time… I didn’t tell any of my friends. I had to be strong for my brother. I had nobody. This time, I have so much support. I know I can do it.” He looks to Daichi, who nods at him. Of course he’ll be there for him – he doesn’t even need to ask.

“Okay. Good.” Koushi offers them a smile as he stands. “It’s really late, so we should all get some rest, yeah?”

That seems to snap Daichi out of his daze. “Yeah, you’re right. Come on, let’s go to bed.”

Yuuji agrees and even leads the way. He knows the way to Daichi’s room and he’s comfortable enough crawling into bed before Daichi, dropping his head against the pillow.

Daichi looks at Yuuji, who is laying under the covers, facing him. “Flip over,” Daichi says, sliding under the covers.

“What?” Yuuji asks, but he does as requested and lays with his back facing Daichi.

“Thanks,” Daichi nods and sidles right up next to Yuuji. He wraps an arm around his waist, Yuuji’s back flush up against his front. He’s always liked this position, the intimacy of it, but it’s not until he’s spooning Yuuji that he realizes how nice it is to have his warm body tucked against his own, and to be able to breathe in the scent of _him_.

Yuuji breathes shakily, “Daichi, I’m sor-“

“Don’t be,” Daichi cuts in. “Don’t ever be sorry for reaching out, okay? That’s what I’m here for. I'm here for you.”

Yuuji nods. He weaves their fingers together, which Daichi keeps pressed against Yuuji’s chest, close to his heart. “Okay. Just – thank you, then.”

“You’re welcome,” Daichi breathes, eyes closing. “Now get some rest.”

“Okay. Goodnight.”

“Goodnight, Yuuji.”

Relaxed and together, they fall into a gentle sleep, but they both feel it: something changing between them, crossing the lines of friendship into something new and unexplored. Together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> /flails around a lot/
> 
> I just couldn't get this out of my head until I wrote it! Enjoy another update :) I'm hoping to get one more in before my vacation is over! Thank you for all the encouragement and comments! I hope you liked this, please let me know your thoughts~


	12. Courage

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Daichi?” Yuuji stirs, and Daichi can feel his heart beat quicken.
> 
> “Yeah?”
> 
> “I’m going to go to the police station today.” He breathes in, and then out. “Will you take me?”
> 
> Daichi nods, squeezing him a little bit tighter. “Yeah, of course I will.”
> 
> He does not miss the way that Yuuji’s body relaxes once he agrees, drooping a little further into the mattress.
> 
> “Okay. Fifteen minutes, then we’ll get up,” Yuuji says, rubbing his eyes with his palms.

“Daichi.”

Daichi groans, burying his face further into the pillow on his bed. He’s exhausted, comfortable and _so warm_. He has no desire to move. He tightens his grip around the warmth in front of him, snuggling in closer, refusing to fully wake up.

“ _Daichi_ , wake up,” a voice whispers to him, laughing, when Daichi grumbles incoherently.

Yuuji wiggles in his grip; somehow, they are still pressed together from where they had fallen asleep last night. He’s warm and comfortable, but… “Daichi, you need to let me go for a sec, I really gotta pee.”

One eye peeks open, and then another. Daichi takes in the room around him; it’s still dark, the curtains drawn, and his face is pressed up against Yuuji’s warm back. All he can see is light peeking over his shoulder and the white of Yuuji’s – no, _his_ \- shirt. His arm is still slung around Yuuji’s waist, tucking him in close, despite the incessant wiggling.

“Mkay,” Daichi mumbles, swallowing thickly. He pulls his arm back enough to allow Yuuji to get up and slide out of bed, heading out the door of his bedroom to the bathroom.

He closes his eyes, reveling in the silence, opening them after a long moment. He turns and reaches for his phone to check the time as Yuuji walks back in.

“Hey, you don’t need to get up yet. It’s only, like, six,” Yuuji mumbles. He climbs back in to bed and grabs Daichi’s hand to stop the movement. The latter nods, retracting his hand, closing his eyes and flipping over on to his back. Yuuji lets him go and moves to lay down next to him with a few inches of space between.

That is, until Daichi whines, reaching for him and Yuuji laughs. How can he resist that? So he moves closer and allows Daichi to pull him the rest of the way. He curls up on Daichi’s chest, resulting in a pleased hum from the brunet. Daichi lets his arms wrap around him loosely which results in further snuggling on Yuuji’s behalf.

“Wakin’ up is so much better like this,” Daichi yawns, words coming out without thinking about them in his sleep-addled state. Normally he’d be embarrassed admitting something like that to _anyone_ , let alone the guy that he likes.

“Yeah,” Yuuji nods, breaths soft against Daichi’s throat. “Yeah, you’re right.”

The wheels start turning in Daichi’s head – God, he wants to _confess_ – because having him here is so tempting, all he wants to do is flip him over and kiss him senseless. It would be so easy, to look over and tell him he likes him, during one of their lazy mornings where everything is calm, relaxed and safe. He can hear Yuuji’s heartbeat and it’s so soft and relaxed, which is no surprise considering how the boy is draped across him and snuggled in deep.

He clears his throat, closing his eyes. _I can do this, I can do this, I can do_ -

“Daichi?” Yuuji stirs, and Daichi can feel his heart beat quicken.

“Yeah?”

“I’m going to go to the police station today.” He breathes in, and then out. “Will you take me?”

Daichi nods, squeezing him a little bit tighter. “Yeah, of course I will.”

Confessing can wait. Yuuji needing him is much more important than that.

He does not miss the way that Yuuji’s body relaxes once he agrees, drooping a little further into the mattress.

“Okay. Fifteen minutes, then we’ll get up,” Yuuji says, rubbing his eyes with his palms.

“Sure,” Daichi yawns. “Fifteen minutes. Mhm.”

* * *

A full hour later, Daichi pulls up to the police station in his bright red vehicle. He throws the car in park, turning to look at Yuuji, who is sitting in the passenger seat of his car. He’s wearing more of Daichi’s clothes, since he spent the night, and Daichi isn’t sure how to explain what exactly that sight does to him. All he can say for sure is that he definitely prefers the way his favourite white-and-teal striped sweater looks on his friend. It hangs off his shoulders just the slightest, falling on to the fabric of his black jeans. They must be almost the exact same height as they fit him well lengthwise, but are a bit baggy due to Daichi’s thicker frame. “Are you sure you don’t want me to come in?” He asks quietly. He was a bit surprised at Yuuji’s request, for him to actually just drop him off, but he’d do anything he wanted.

Yuuji looks down, fingers grasping at the fabric on the sleeves of his sweatshirt. “Yeah. It’ll just be a lot of waiting around, honestly,” he shrugs, looking back up at Daichi. “And I think this is just something that I need to do alone? Don’t get me wrong… I appreciate everything you’ve done for me. Seriously, you’ve gone above and way fucking beyond. Like, Buzz Lightyear beyond.” Yuuji chuckles when Daichi gives him a confused look, elaborating with, “Y’know… To infinity, and beyond?”

Daichi continues to stare, leading Yuuji’s jaw to fall slack as he gapes. “Oh my god, please tell me that you’ve seen Toy Story.” Yuuji sounds shocked, offended, and excited all at the same time.

“Uh, no, I never have, actually.” Daichi smirks, taking in every curve of Yuuji’s face as it lights up in light of this new discovery.

“We are so watching that this weekend.” Yuuji chuckles. “Seriously, though. I’ll be okay, yeah? I’ll text you when I’m done.” The blonde opens his door, swinging his feet out. “Please don’t like, freak out and worry. I’ll be fine. I promise, and I’ll call if I’m not.”

“Am I that obvious?” He smiles sheepishly, rubbing at the back of his neck.

“Yes, you are.” Yuuji smirks, “but that’s alright, I don’t mind.” With that, he steps out of the car, walking up the cemented path to the police station.

Daichi stays, watching, as he walks right up to the door that slides open for him automatically. He watches as Yuuji walks in, disappearing past the windows.

And then he trusts, and drives away.

* * *

It sure as hell isn’t easy, but Yuuji does what he has to do. He comes clean about everything. He tells the police about the fight and about the phone call. He tells them about his father’s history and what this threat of him coming back could possibly mean.

It takes all day. They take statements, make phone calls, get medical records. Yuuji gets another examination, to check on his wounds, and the police seek out his father.

He doesn’t get the reaction that he expected, however.

Nobody is mad at him.

Nobody tells him that it’s his fault.

Rather, the police officers are supportive – they listen, ask questions intermittently and ensure him that they are going to do everything to make sure that _he_ is safe.

They contact his brother for him, just to warn him and his legal guardian. Yuuji is too afraid to make the call himself and he feels a little badly that it’s a random police officer doing it, but he’s sure his brother will understand. He feels safe, but, confronting this… it’s still very terrifying.

* * *

Daichi is sitting at Hajime’s, trying to busy himself with an intense match in _Halo 5_ when his phone finally, _finally_ rings. He practically leaps over to his phone, not caring that his character is immediately blown to bits by a grenade in the game. His eyes scan over the contact – it’s not on he has saved, but he knows immediately who it is when the identification reads _Police Department_.

“Hello?” He says, picking it up quickly.

“Daichi, hey.” God, the sound of Yuuji’s voice is so comforting. Daichi is certain that he could listen to it every day and never tire of it.

“How are you doing?” He asks, leaning back to sit up in the couch. “Is... everything okay?”

Yuuji hums on the other end of the line. “Yeah, everything is okay. I can leave now. Could you come pick me up? I’m pretty hungry… all they had here for me to eat was vending machine food, which gets old really fast.”

“Sure thing.”

“Oh, and can you... can you pick up Kou on the way for me? Sorry, I called him first. My phone is long dead and I haven’t talked to him since early yesterday so I knew he would be panicking.”

“It’s not a problem,” Daichi affirms.

“Great. Thanks so much, Daichi. I’ll wait out front.”

“See you soon, Yuuji.” Daichi clicks off the phone, exhaling sharply. He feels a lot of emotions – relief, happiness, nervousness – he’s almost unsure which to feel first.

Hajime, sitting on the couch next to him, puts both of their controllers down on the table. “Is he okay?” He asks, although the look on Daichi’s face gives it away pretty clearly.

“Yeah, yeah, he is. He sounds fine, actually.”

Hajime laughs, “That’s a relief.” He stands, nudging Daichi with his foot, “then you’d better get going to pick him up, yeah?”

“Yeah,” Daichi grins, “yeah, I really should.”

* * *

As soon as Daichi pulls up to Koutarou and Yuuji’s building, he spots the silver-haired student waiting nervously by the door. Clearly, he was expecting Daichi, and he runs over to the car before Daichi even has it in park.

“DAICHI!” Koutarou whips open the passenger door, jumping into the seat. He leans over to pull Daichi into a bone-crushing hug immediately. Daichi grunts in response, managing to half-hug him back right before Koutarou pulls away. He shuts the door, buckles his seat belt and lets out a really deep breath.

“Koutarou, I-“

“Daichi! I was so so so worried, when Yuuji didn’t come home last night! I tried calling him but he didn’t answer… then it started going straight to voicemail!” He whines, face scrunching up unpleasantly. “He’s alright, though?”

Daichi nods, “yes. I saw him this morning and he is alright.” Koutarou looks like he wants more of an explanation, but Daichi shakes his head. “I’ll let him explain things to you, okay? It’s not… really my place.”

Koutarou nods. “Yeah, you’re right. Kay, let’s go.”

They drive, Koutarou humming along with whatever music comes on the radio. He seems calm but his fingers tapping on his thigh betray his nervousness.

True to his word though, Yuuji is waiting, sitting on the steps. He’s chewing on the cap of a water bottle, his gaze snapping up as soon as Daichi parks his car.

Looking from Koutarou to Yuuji, he can see how close they are; how much is spoken just through their looks, nothing needing to be said. Koutarou gets out of the car to meet his friend and pulls him into a hug. Daichi can’t hear what they’re saying, but Yuuji is smiling, so everything must be okay.

For some reason, when they pull up at a barbecue joint for some burgers, Daichi expects them to go in for lunch without him to talk. That wouldn’t be a problem but he says nothing when Yuuji gets out, waiting for Daichi with his hand outstretched.

Over food, Yuuji finally comes clean to Koutarou about everything. It’s a good thing there’s lots of burgers and fries because Koutarou is an emotional eater and between the three of them they devour about half of the menu. The waitress gives them more than a few weird looks when they each order a second and then a _third_ burger, but she brings them anyway.

Through it all, Yuuji is strong. So much stronger than before – even when talking about his father and their fight, even when talking about his worries for the future… He doesn’t let his fears get the best of him and Daichi could not be more proud of his growth. He’s amazed more and more every day by Yuuji’s strength of character and his compassion for others.

They head back to Yuuji and Koutarou’s apartment after lunch; they all, unfortunately, have homework to do. Daichi leaves for a few hours, going home to do his own thing, but from that point on they start spending more and more time together.

Every evening, either Daichi is at Yuuji’s place or Yuuji comes to spend the night with him.

Koushi doesn’t question it, making an extra serving of dinner for the nights when Yuuji comes over. Those two are becoming fast friends and it makes Daichi very happy to see his best friend interact with Yuuji with such fondness; he’s not surprised, but he’s always impressed by Koushi’s ability to befriend everyone, and make everyone feel like they’re welcome and have a place. They sit around the table, exchanging stories and jokes, laughing while eating steaming hot plates of curry. Yuuji even takes the initiative to make dinner one night for the two of them and it’s _heavenly_. Daichi needs to seriously learn some of his tricks.

Tooru engages him in conversation when they meet up with him and Hajime for lunch, sharing a plate of cheese fries, swapping hair tips because _Daichi there is no way that his hair is dyed and that soft and fluffy without some magic product!_ As it turns out, he only uses a few products, and he and Tooru discuss the merits of different brands. Hajime and Daichi have very little clue as to what’s going on so they just chuckle and nod to themselves.

Koutarou always invites Daichi to play video games with him when Yuuji has to work, always lending a hand in the kitchen when they do their baking in the evenings. He’s not the best baker but he certainly isn’t bad. His enthusiasm in the kitchen is always appreciated and he’s never too tired to mix batter or butter a muffin tray. Kazuma proves to have Yuuji’s sense of humour when they meet up at the campus bar where Daichi got to hear a _lot_ of stories about Yuuji’s past. Most of which embarrassed the blonde, but Daichi loved it.

It’s easy and comforting, but at the same thing… They’re dancing along the lines of friendship. They both know it, but neither one is willing to be the first one to bring it up. It’s too easy to ignore it, to threaten to break what they have going, to potentially push the other away.

So Daichi grits his teeth and just allows himself to relish the easy, relaxed shared touches and the fact that his closet now has a good section of Yuuji’s clothing that he has no intention of returning.

* * *

Saturday finally rolls around. As the semester wears on classes are becoming more intense, which means more homework. Daichi and Yuuji don’t study well together as their courses are so mismatched, so they spend the morning at their own places.

Daichi is keenly aware of the absence at his side.

So by the time the afternoon hits, Koushi suggests a movie night. “I want to invite Tobio anyway,” he admits, looking _bashful_. Koushi, Koushi fucking Sugawara looking bashful. It’s a sight to see.

“Are you guys going out yet or what?” Daichi asks, chuckling, as he puts away his notebooks. He’s finished his last assignment for the weekend not a moment too soon.

“You are the _last_ person who gets to say that,” Koushi snorts as he sips from his steaming mug of tea.

Daichi almost spits out his tea, frowning over at Koushi.

It hasn’t escaped the notice of any of his friends, how close he and Yuuji are. Ryuu was sure they were dating; even Asahi wanted to congratulate him. Daichi doesn’t doubt that Yuuji’s friends are behaving in the same way… well, at least, he hopes that they are.

“Are you going to invite Yuuji or should I just text him?” Koushi flashes Daichi a grin, that _evil_ grin that nobody seems to believe he possesses, thanks to that sweet-as-sugar demeanor that he usually wears.

“I will, I will. Fine.” He huffs in mock-anger, but Koushi’s laugh tells him that he’s not buying it.

 **Daichi:** hey, Koushi wants to do a movie night tonight. You in?

 **Daichi:** he’s gonna invite Tobio btw

 **Yuuji:** Ooooh those two are getting close, are they? ;)

 **Daichi:** whats with the weird face

 **Yuuji:** It’s a winking face, Daichi. You know what people do after movies right?

 **Daichi:** ur gross that’s my best friend

 **Yuuji:** And my sweet little kouhai!

 **Daichi:** -___-

 **Yuuji:** I’m in! Yeah, haha, definitely in. What time?

 **Daichi:** eight? That work?

 **Yuuji:** Sure, want me to bring some food?

 **Daichi:** yeah thatd be great. U need a ride?

 **Yuuji:** No, I’m at the campus library, so I’m not far. I’ll just walk over.

 **Daichi:** ok see u then

 **Yuuji:** Bye bye, Daichi!

“So he said yes, I gather by that stupid smile on your face?” Koushi snickers, not even looking up from his phone where he’s undoubtedly texting Tobio something similar.

Daichi scowls, but it’s half-hearted at best. He really _is_ happy that Yuuji is coming over.

* * *

At ten to eight, Tobio knocks on the door. He’s still a little bit awkward around Daichi but he’s definitely coming around; it’s clear how much he likes Koushi, and how much Koushi likes him. Their interactions are pretty cute, if Daichi is being honest.

Not to mention it’s really fun to bug Koushi that he’s courting someone two years his junior.

Yuuji shows up about five minutes late, grin on his face and a pizza. Daichi’s stomach flops as soon as he sees the blonde, looking comfortable and casual in a navy blue sweater that looks oddly familiar.

“Pizza!” He calls, following Daichi in and waving the box around like a prize. Koushi cheers dramatically and Tobio just glares, tossing out a little bit of mockery.

Daichi laughs easily.

“What are we watching?” Tobio asks, picking up a piece of pizza from the box. It’s piping hot, steam still rolling off of it.

“Toy Story.” Yuuji responds quickly and before anyone else can even think about it.

“Do we really need to watch Toy Story?” Daichi sighs, not because he doesn’t want to watch it, but he doesn’t like commandeering the night just to see something for him.

“Yes, Daichi has _never seen it_.” Yuuji says it in such a low voice like they’re sharing some sort of awful secret.

“What?!” Koushi all but squeals, “How did this happen? Oh, god, I’ve failed as a best friend…”

“Seriously, dude?” Tobio shakes his head, “You’ve never seen it?”

“I… I… I don’t know why, but I haven’t seen it!”

“There you go. That’s why we’re watching it. I even brought my Blu-ray copy.” Yuuji fishes through his backpack, coming out with a shiny copy of Toy Story.

“Alright, let’s do this.” Koushi grins and flops down on the two-seater couch, coaxing Tobio into the spot next to him. Yuuji and Daichi have no qualms about sharing the bigger couch. Yuuji sits in the middle, cross-legged, and Daichi sits to his right and leans back into the cushions.

As soon as the movie starts, everyone is quiet.

Daichi will deny it until the end of time, but he definitely gets more than a little emotional throughout the first movie. He’s sniffling, reaching for another slice of pizza when Yuujis palm slides against his.

He looks over, quickly – hand-holding is, as a general rule between them, reserved for times of stress or times when they need to be grounded. Not casually, sitting on the couch watching a movie like they’re doing now.

 _Maybe it’s because of the movie_ , he decides, letting the weight of Yuuji’s hand get comfortable in his palm. Yeah, must be because he’s getting emotional from the movie. He finishes his pizza, eyes glued to the screen until the credits start to roll at the end of the movie.

“Wow,” Daichi says, clearing his throat. “Fuck.”

“I know, right?” Koushi shakes his head.

“It still gets me every time.” Tobio, who so far was being pretty quiet, even seemed to be affected.

“I told you.” Yuuji smirked, squeezing his hand.

What was there to do but put on the second movie?

Near the end of the second Toy Story film, Tobio begins to drift off on the couch, so Koushi pulls him up and guides him to his bedroom to get some rest. (It’s a good thing Tobio is half-asleep or else he _definitely_ would be blushing at the wolf whistles and cheers they get from Yuuji. Daichi just face palms.)

“And there is still _one more_?!” Daichi breathes in, and then out, letting out a huge breath of air. “Okay, man. I can do this. Totally.”

“You sure? This is a lot to take in in one evening.” Yuuji has the trilogy, of course and he packed them _all_ , but it is pretty late already.

“No, man. We have to watch the last one.”

Yuuji nods, grabbing the case for his Blu-ray and pulling out the disk. He pops in the new one, putting away _Toy Story 2_. “You want a drink?”

“Yes, please.”

He drags himself up to his feet, grabbing their glasses and walking to the kitchen to get them some refills. Yuuji is familiar with the layout of their apartment by now, easily navigating through and grabbing them a fresh supply of ice water along with some chips to munch on and keep their energy up for the last movie. Daichi watches him, right up until the point where he comes back and hands him a glass, flopping down on to the couch next to him.

“Just to warn you, this third movie is pretty emotional.”

“Is it?” Daichi sips his water, hoping that the cool liquid will help cool him off.

It doesn’t.

“Mhm,” Yuuji hums, lazing back against the couch. “Still good, though.”

Daichi nods and the movie picks up, starting loudly and drawing them in instantly.

Yuuji wasn’t kidding when he said the movie was going to be emotional, but Daichi _really_ didn’t think that a movie about talking children’s toys would hit him so hard.

But it does, and halfway through he finds himself looking to his right, for Yuuji. He finds the blonde watching him and not the movie, sporting a bright red blush at being caught red-handed.

“Daichi…” he says quietly, and Daichi watches the way his Adam’s apple bobs when he swallows nervously. He fidgets with his hands, wanting to ask for something but he doesn’t know how. He can’t find the words, can’t find his _nerve_ , looking away when he realizes just how hard Daichi is starting at him.

But Daichi sees, because Yuuji can’t hide anything from him anymore.

He plucks up his courage and as it turns out, he’s got enough for the both of them.

Daichi hooks a thumb around Yuuji's chin, pulling his face up. Their eyes meet and it's like an unspoken promise hangs between the two of them. Daichi swallows; Yuuji licks his lips. They both stare, tense, wanting to move further but fear of the unknown is stopping them.

Until Daichi decides that the potential reward is damn well worth this risk.

Wordlessly, Daichi leans in and Yuuji is there to meet him. Their lips meet slowly and carefully as they learn the feel of one another. Yuuji’s lips are softer than expected, pressing against his so carefully, as if he’s afraid that he’ll disappear if he presses in too hard.

There's no fireworks, no fanfare, no magical song to sweep them away.

But there is comfort, and safety, and an overwhelming flow of emotion.

Yuuji feels it all; he feels safe and he feels cared for. He can't help the tears that start to well up in his eyes. It's such a cathartic release - finally _, finally_ getting to do this.

Daichi knows, somehow, as he always does, and he brushes the tears away with his thumbs before they can fall. He keeps their lips slotted together, moving gently now, to which Yuuji responds. Fingers curl in the fabric of Daichi’s shirt, holding him in place. Daichi’s arms slide around Yuuji’s frame, hands meeting against his lower back. His arms squeeze Yuuji in a tight hug and Daichi is suddenly so sure, so certain of so many things in life.

One being that he cares immensely for the boy in his arms.

The second being that he's going to do everything in his power to make sure that he always feels safe and loved.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I headcanon that Yuuji is an emotional crier, whether it's happy or sad feelings he can't help but cry ♥
> 
> Ahhh thank you for reading, this chapter was so rewarding to write, I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. Just 2 chapters left - that's madness! 
> 
> Spoiler alert: ~~Next chapter expect fluff. I added this one in just because I wanted to write fluff, okay?~~


	13. Powerful

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "You two are disgustingly adorable. I can’t wait to let everyone in the group chat know about this development.” Koushi pulls his phone out of the pocket of his pyjama pants, flicking it on.
> 
> Daichi lifts up an eyebrow, “you wouldn’t.”
> 
> “Fine then.” Koushi’s features light up and he turns sharply. “Okay, I won’t, as long as you agree to come to Tooru’s party.”
> 
> “That’s it?”
> 
> “Well, and bring Yuuji, obviously.” Koushi chuckles, “I know you finished your work early so you don’t have an excuse anymore.”

Daichi has been thinking about kissing Yuuji for so long now that doing it feels almost surreal.

His hands frame Yuuji’s face, fingertips pressing softly against his cheeks, warm from their kisses. The blonde is leaning most of his weight against Daichi now. His long arms are wrapped around his neck, holding him close; one leg is sprawled out on top of Daichi’s lap. The weight is warm and comfortable.

He moves his lips in tandem with Yuuji’s. He tastes sweet, like the licorice he’s been eating during their movie marathon.

The movie plays, completely forgotten. Daichi can’t even hear it anymore. His mind is completely blank, focusing on nothing other than pulling Yuuji impossibly close.

Yuuji is pliant in Daichi’s hands, molding against him with ease. Daichi slides his hands up and into Yuuji’s hair, fingertips massaging his scalp. Yuuji hums, pleased, at the gesture, allowing Daichi to continue his exploration of previously forbidden skin.

His palms warm the back of Yuuji’s neck, fingertips ghosting under the neckline of his shirt. He pulls back, splaying out his hands on Yuuji’s shoulders. His hands trail down, feeling the jut of Yuuji’s shoulder blades, the muscles twitching under his touch. Yuuji’s fingers twirl into Daichi’s soft, dark hair, breaking the kiss to catch his breath.

Yuuji chuckles softly, trying to pull away from the kiss but Daichi chases him for more. “Daichi, we-“ he gets interrupted by a quick kiss, “should-“ another kiss, “probably turn off-off the movie.” Daichi punctuates this with another kiss before nodding.

“Yeah, I guess you’re right.” He smiles, almost in disbelief still as he hurriedly turns off the television.

They take the time to gather up their things, tossing their cups and bowls into the sink to deal with them later. Yuuji grabs some ice water, drinking it down quickly. Daichi turns off the lights and Yuuji follows him, wandering off to his bedroom like they’ve done this a hundred times.

When Daichi walks into the bedroom to see Yuuji sitting on his bed, it all hits him quickly.

Yuuji is in his bed.

He’s not here because he needs comfort – he’s here because he wants to be. Because he _likes_ him.

Well, Daichi hopes he does, anyway… He frowns, hoping he’s not misunderstood as he hasn’t explicitly asked him, and before he realizes what he’s doing the question has popped out of his mouth. “This means you like me, right?”

Yuuji looks up at him, the corners of his lips tugging up into a smile. “Yes, Daichi.”

Daichi exhales, nodding sharply. A blush creeps on his face. “You… want to date me?”

He hums. “Well, that’s the idea, yeah.”

He gets a slow nod in response to which Yuuji chuckles.

But he’s blushing, too, so Daichi feels a little more at ease.

“Do you want something to sleep in?” Daichi asks, turning to his dresser. At Yuuji’s confirmation he pulls out a red shirt for him, along with his own pyjamas. He’s about to turn and toss it to Yuuji before he gets an idea.

Daichi takes his own pyjamas and tosses them on the bed, sitting down next to Yuuji. The mattress dips with his weight and he exhales. He’s nervous although he’s not really sure why; it’s not like this is the first time he’s seen this.

It is the first time it’s been done intimately, though.

Yuuji is sitting, one leg crossed, just watching Daichi. He doesn’t say anything at all. He waits while Daichi contemplates, and then just reaches out.

“Is this okay?” Daichi asks, slowing his movements. His fingers press against the hem of Yuuji’s shirt as he waits for permission to move further.

Yuuji nods, a soft, fond smile playing on his lips. Daichi follows this by lifting his shirt up and off his frame. He lets it fall to the floor beside the bed unceremoniously.

Unlike before, he lets himself look at Yuuji. Really _see_ him. See his build, the firm tug of muscles under his skin. His fingers ghost over the scar on his chest from weeks past, no longer open but still red. He presses his lips to it; moving up, to his collarbone, and neckline. He feels the warmth of him as he touches, his hands sliding around his ribcage and up his back.

He presses kisses to Yuuji’s jawline and cheek, moving upwards. Yuuji chuckles, complaining that it _tickles_ but Daichi doesn’t care. He presses in for a soft kiss; Yuuji’s mouth has gone cold from the ice water. He heats it up quickly, tongue swiping in to press against Yuuji’s.

Their movements are slow and steady. There’s no need to rush - time is something that they have in spades.

Their experience shows in the small gestures, in the way that Yuuji sucks on Daichi’s bottom lip, his tongue ring cold against Daichi’s own tongue; in the way that Daichi pulls him close, fingers digging into the muscles of Yuuji’s lower back. The blonde sighs into his mouth, relaxing at the touch. Daichi continues to move, gently massaging him until he’s molded up completely against his body.

Daichi only pulls away when he’s satisfied that Yuuji has been kissed senseless; his lips red and swollen, eyes hazy. “Here,” he says softly, picking up the shirt he brought out for Yuuji and holding it up.

Rather than take it, the blonde just lifts his arms up and lets Daichi help him into it. He smirks, reaching out to grab on to Daichi’s shirt and does the same thing for him. He helps him out of his shirt and lets it drop to the floor. He pulls his new, clean shirt over his head, fingers taking their time in feeling down the exposed plain of Daichi’s sides.

Daichi pulls Yuuji back and they shift, getting comfortable on his bed. Their limbs tangle together. Yuuji’s lips find his again, pulling him into more lazy kisses. Daichi wraps his arms around Yuuji’s waist, hands splayed out on the small of his back.

Neither of them would remember who fell asleep first, but somehow they ended up tangled together even more than usual, in a deep sleep.

Yuuji doesn’t realize until then just how much he has missed the feeling of a good, long sleep.

* * *

It takes Koushi about thirty-four seconds the next morning to realize that something has changed.

Daichi walks into the kitchen, leaving a sleeping Yuuji in his bed. Seeing him sleeping there is pretty cute, so he figures that waking him up with some caffeine would do the trick. He heads for the coffee pot right away; measuring out some coffee into a filter and sliding it into the machine. He pours in a pot full of water, setting it to brew as Koushi’s voice startles him out of his thoughts.

“You kissed Yuuji, didn’t you?”

Daichi whips around, turning to face his friend. “How the fuck do you do that?”

Koushi laughs, shaking his head. “You’ve been extra broody in the mornings lately, and today I walk in and you’re _smiling at the coffee pot_. The coffee pot that you hate, I remind you, that leaks unless you get it perfect and the one you are always complaining that needs replacing.”

He gets a huff in response. “Maybe I just had a change of heart about the coffee pot.”

“Oh, yeah. I’m sure.”

“It’s not like the coffee pot is doing it on purpose.”

“Are you sure? It makes these angry sounds. I think that it does.”

“That’s just like the resting bitch face of coffee pots.”

“You can’t keep dodging what I’ve said by personifying the coffee pot, you know.” Koushi leans against the counter, crossing his arms. Daichi wishes that he could reach over and wipe off that smirk on his face he looks so damn smug.

Daichi chuckles. “Yeah, I know. Fuck, why are you so damn perceptive?”

“One of us has to be.”

He laughs, shaking his head, because he’s right. So damn right. What is he to do other than to tell the entire story? Koushi is, as always, a good sport and listens attentively, providing thoughts and commentary along the way.

“Daichi,” he says at last, reaching to grab some cups out of the cupboard. “I’m happy for you.”

“Thanks, Koush-“

“You two are disgustingly adorable. I can’t wait to let everyone in the group chat know about this development.” He pulls his phone out of the pocket of his pyjama pants, flicking it on.

Daichi lifts up an eyebrow, “you wouldn’t.”

“Fine then.” Koushi’s features light up and he turns sharply. “Okay, I won’t, as long as you agree to come to Tooru’s party.”

“That’s it?”

“Well, and bring Yuuji, obviously.” Koushi chuckles, “I know you finished your work early so you don’t have an excuse anymore.”

“When is it again?” Daichi pours some coffee into two cups, turning to grab the cream from the refrigerator.

“Friday night.”

“Hajime is letting him throw one?”

He laughs, “Those two are so totally crazy for each other. Pretty sure Hajime will let Tooru do anything he asks, and the same goes in reverse.”

“You’re right about that.” Daichi chuckles, shaking his head. Those two are so goddamn whipped; it’s simultaneously adorable and annoying. He pours in some sugar and cream, stirring them before handing the cream to Koushi. “Fine, we’ll go, as long as Yuuji isn’t busy.”

Koushi whistles, low. “That was easy.”

Daichi rolls his eyes, grabbing the cups and heading back over to his room. He nudges the door open with his foot; slowly, so that it’s not loud. It’s still dark with the curtains drawn, but he can see Yuuji shifting as he walks in. Slowly, he slips over to his side of the bed, putting the coffee cups down on the nightstand.

“Good morning,” Daichi greets, a grin evident on his face. He reaches out and traces Yuuji’s side with the palm of his hand.

Yuuji grunts incoherently in response, but rolls over to press further against Daichi’s outstretched hand. His eyes blink open, slowly; he yawns, rubbing at his eyes. “Hm, mornin’.” His movements remain slow as he flops out on Daichi’s lap and stretches. Daichi watches the muscles in his arms twitch and then relax.

“Good morning. I brought coffee.” Daichi runs a hand through Yuuji’s hair, who snuggles up on his lap.

“That sounds good. Thanks.” He closes his eyes and sighs. “What time is it?”

Daichi turns, squinting at the alarm clock on his nightstand. “It’s about nine fifteen.”

He gets a groan in response. “I work at eleven.” He moves to sit up and Daichi’s hand falls from his hair, so he returns to where he was and presses into the touch. “Man, sleeping is pretty fuckin’ great.”

A chuckle follows as Daichi smiles, and reaches to grab Yuuji’s cup. He rearranges their position so that Yuuji can stay relaxed against him and places the cup in his hands. “Yeah, it is.”

The blonde takes a long sip, sighing. He wiggles a little to get comfortable. “Hey, Daichi?”

“Mmh?” Daichi grabs his own coffee cup, sipping it.

“Do you wanna go on a date with me?” He says it like it’s no big deal but Daichi can feel how fast his heart is beating.

“Yes, I do, Yuuji.” He grins, happy that Yuuji can’t see the stupid, goofy smile on his face.

“Okay. Awesome.” He laughs, drinking back more of his coffee. “Tuesday?”

“Sure. Where to?”

“You’ll find out.”

“A secret?” Daichi eyes him suspiciously, “I don’t know, I feel like there’s a chance I’m walking into some epic prank.”

“No pranks, I promise.” Yuuji leans his head back just enough for their eyes to lock and he offers him a lopsided smile.

“Okay, I’m in.”

“I’ll come and pick you up at seven, then?”

“You’re gonna pick me up?”

“Mhm.” Yuuji shifts his position slightly. “Just-you’ll see, okay?”

“Okay, okay.” Daichi laughs, “Oh, and, um, you remember my friend Tooru?” Yuuji nods in affirmation. “He and Hajime are throwing a party this Friday. It’s something they do every semester – kind of a post-mid term stress buster, I guess. Do you… wanna come with me?”

There’s a pause, and, “you wanna show me off to all your friends, don’t you?”

“Is that a yes.”

Yuuji chuckles. “Yes.” He finishes his coffee, dropping the mug on the nightstand. “Can I use your shower?”

This time Daichi is the one to pause, smirking. “Yeah, of course you can.”

* * *

Tuesday afternoon, Daichi strolls into his class like usual.

He sits at the same table he sits at every day.

He pulls out his books, grabbing his pencil case, and-

“Daichi!” Tooru busts into the room, scaring a few first-years half to death. He looks effortless, as per usual, hair windswept and wearing a sweater that’s definitely not his. He practically spins into the chair next to Daichi. “Good morning.”

“Morning. You’re energetic today, Tooru.” He chuckles, watching as the brunet takes out his own notebook.

“Yeah, well, I wrote my last midterm today so I’m pretty excited. Hajime had to bribe me to come to the rest of my classes today.” He sighs wistfully, Daichi raising an eyebrow.

“Star Wars?”

“Yeah. He’s gonna marathon with me. This is way more special than my birthday!” Tooru snickers, pulling out his phone. “You wanna join us? I’m gonna send out some texts.”

Shaking his head, Daichi responds, “no, sorry, but I’ve got plans.”

At _that,_ Tooru freezes. “Plans?”

Daichi hums, absolutely no idea the monster he’s just unleashed. “Yeah, sorry.”

“Plans with… whom?”

His gaze travels over to Tooru, who is looking at him like an expectant pup waiting for its dinner. He opens his mouth, completely ready to tell him to mind his own business, and-

“Yuuji.”

Well, so much for being low-key.

Tooru _squeals._ “Oh my god I totally called it. Yuu _and_ Ryuu both owe me.” He grins, and nudges Daichi with his shoulder. “So, so, what happened? Tell me everything.”

So it really shouldn’t be a surprise when he receives a barrage of texts from Tetsurou, but he’s still caught off guard.

 **Tetsurou:** D A I C H I

 **Tetsurou:** OH MY FUCK YOU AND YUUJI ARE _DATING_

 **Tetsurou:** AND YOU DIDN’T TELL ME!!!

 **Daichi:** yeah, um, sorry Tetsu, it only just happened

 **Daichi:** we’re going out tonight

 **Tetsurou:** tonight? What are you wearing?

 **Daichi:** uh, clothes? Jeans… and a shirt

 **Tetsurou:** you’re hopeless Daichi

 **Tetsurou:** send me a pic please

Daichi sighs, but relents and snaps a picture of himself in the mirror.

 **Daichi:** [Attached Image]

 **Tetsurou:** oh okay okay. Those black jeans are fine, but switch out the shirt.

 **Tetsurou:** do you still have that dark red shirt? The one you wore last year to my Christmas party?

 **Daichi:** uh, I think I have it somewhere

 **Tetsurou:** okay, wear that one. Where are you guys going?

 **Daichi:** no clue it’s a surprise

 **Tetsurou:** okay then keep it like that and take your black jacket in case you need to dress it up

 **Daichi:** I don’t think it’ll be that fancy, Tetsu

 **Tetsurou:** you never know!

 **Daichi** : thanks, Tetsu. Seriously.

 **Tetsurou:** I know, I’m your best friend, don’t worry I won’t tell Koushi ;)

 **Tetsurou** : have fun and use protection okay

 **Daichi:** I thought I was the group dad

 **Tetsurou:** someone has to dad the dad!

 **Tetsurou:** wait does that make me the grandpa?

 **Tetsurou:** I look fucking hot for a grandpa

Three sharp knocks on the door surprise Daichi and he drops his phone right on the ground. Grumbling and cursing, he shoves the phone in his back pocket and heads over to the door, swinging it open.

He’s greeted with the sight of Yuuji, who clearly had no trouble picking out his own outfit.

He looks _great_ , wearing a light gray sweater; the sleeves are rolled up right to the elbows. The collar exposes his neck invitingly. His white-washed jeans hug his thighs, matching well with his white shoes.

Yuuji grins at him and his tongue ring glints under the light. “You look nice, Daichi.”

The compliment catches him off guard and he stutters, “Thanks. You too, Yuuji.”

“You ready?”

A nod later, they’re walking out of Daichi’s building. Yuuji lets his hand find Daichi’s, their fingers threading together as he pulls him towards the parking lot.

“What, am I driving?” Daichi raises an eyebrow, knowing that Yuuji does not own a car.

“Nope.” His grin intensifies as he stops in front of a parking spot.

With a motorcycle parked in it.

“Wow, Yuuji. This is…” Daichi trails off, at a loss for words. Yuuji approaches the bike, grinning proudly.

“A beaut, isn’t she? Been saving a long while, and Kou’s dad owns a shop. He helped me get her for cheap and fix her up.”

Daichi doesn’t know a lot about motorcycles, but, he can tell that a lot of work has gone into this bike. It is impeccably shined and looked _perfect_ , like it’s never seen the road. “Yeah, it looks really great.”

Yuuji grins and grabs the two helmets attached to the bike, tossing one at Daichi. He models how to put it on, clasping it shut with ease.

Daichi suddenly feels a little bit nervous; he’s only been on a motorcycle with Koushi a few times and he really doesn’t want to look like an idiot. He bites his lip, looking down at the helmet uneasily.

Yuuji must read the nervous look on his face because he’s there, quickly, his hand on Daichi’s. “Hey, we don’t have to if you don’t want to.”

Daichi shakes his head. “No, I just… I'm nervous. I haven't ridden them very much."

“Oh.” Yuuji grins, “ _oh_!” He laughs, helping Daichi put on the helmet and clip it up. “All you have to do is put your weight on me and trust me.”

“That’ll be easy.” Daichi smiles, nods and gets on the bike.

And it is easy.

Yuuji climbs on and Daichi wraps his arms around Yuuji’s waist, his hands locking. Yuuji whispers something to him and he can’t make out the words but the action is somehow comforting.

The motorcycle roars to life and they’re moving.

It’s unlike anything Daichi has ever felt before; it’s exhilarating. Riding before, on Koushi's bike; it never felt this intimate. The whip of wind around him, the loud engine of the motorcycle, the warm weight of Yuuji against his front…

Daichi watches the scenery pass, eyes catching on the sky. He realizes they’re heading out of town – the sky is more clear already, and he can spot a few stars in the sky.

Yuuji keeps driving, focused intently, and Daichi squeezes him tightly; he breathes deeply, feeling relaxed.

The ride is long but enthralling. Soon enough, they’re pulling up to a quiet clearing. Yuuji puts the kickstand up and steps off the bike. Daichi wobbles a little when he gets off, his footing uneasy.

The blonde reaches out and grabs his shoulder. “Come on.” He slings his backpack, that he’d tucked away on his bike, over a shoulder. He holds a hand out which Daichi takes, their fingers pressing together with familiarity.

They don’t have to walk far before Daichi understands what they’re doing. He has to hold in a laugh because it’s so sweet and he wishes he could shove this in the face of all those people who told him Yuuji was no good.

No, wait – on second thought, he’s not sharing this with _anybody_.

Yuuji is a blushing mess when they stop. He pulls out a blanket from his backpack, spreading it out. “Come on, sit down.”

Daichi does as he’s asked, pulling Yuuji down with him. “Yuuji…” he chuckles, relishing the way that Yuuji’s blush travels down his neck, creeping towards his collarbones. “Yuuji, did you…”

He laughs, cutting him off. “Yeah, I did.” He reaches into his backpack and pulls out a white paper back, opening it up and pulling out two carefully wrapped-up sandwiches.

Daichi leans in, pulling Yuuji by the back of his neck and kissing him deeply. “Thank you.”

Yuuji’s blush deepens.

They eat, they talk, joking around; Yuuji makes himself comfortable laying against Daichi’s chest. He sighs, sipping some ice water. They’re probably skipping steps, not bothering with the whole awkward touches thing, but Daichi couldn’t be happier. They cuddle until Yuuji can’t hide how cold he is anymore and head back for the bike.

The ride home is just as great as the ride there. Daichi could lose himself in this; in Yuuji.

When they park at Daichi’s, he slips off the bike and steadies himself using Yuuji’s shoulder.

“You coming in?”

Of course he is.

* * *

Everything changes between them, yet, at the same time… nothing does.

They still text all the time, in the same way that they bantered with each other from the start. Except now it’s punctuated with words of affection and more honesty. Yuuji is open with his feelings; he lets Daichi know when he’s struggling with things, and Daichi confides in him about his own life – how he’s stressed about his future and feels pressured to make decisions he’s not ready for. Yuuji is bringing Daichi out of shell more and more and he feels comfortable talking with him about anything. He doesn’t have to keep secrets, he doesn’t have to pretend to be strong and unbothered by anything – he can be the feeling, emotional mess that he really is and Yuuji accepts that. It’s a freeing experience.

As it turns out, Daichi doesn’t even have to tell anyone; he gave permission for Tooru to broadcast it to their entire friend group and boy did he ever broadcast it.

Hajime congratulates him through text message, and the lack of emoji’s promises that he actually wrote it – Tooru didn’t steal his phone to do so.

Yuu and Ryuu don’t seem surprised in the slightest, but they both curse under their breath when they see Daichi as they’re reminded of how they both owe Tooru money.

“We knew it was gonna happen but we didn’t expect it so fast!” Yuu complained to Daichi between classes.

“I thought it’d take another month, like, tops.” Ryuu sighs, sipping his coffee. “I was gonna take Shouyou out for a nice dinner with that money!”

“Aw, looks like you’ll just have to take him to McDonalds again,” Yuu snorts. “Don’t worry, you just need to buy him a Happy Meal.”

Ryuu chuckles, side-eyeing Yuu. “You know he’s taller than you, right?”

“Still younger!” Yuu pouts, and Daichi laughs before they part ways and head off to their respective classes.

Shimizu brings it up in class, so incredibly casually but Daichi almost spits out his coffee because he isn’t expecting it. Asahi, sitting with them, tacks on his own congratulations and asks a few questions.

Yuuji texts him a picture of the cupcake Kazuma had given him with a rainbow drawn on in coloured icing.

 **Yuuji:** omg we’re just dating people are acting like we’re getting married!!!

 **Daichi:** I get it, this is a pretty big step for a wild party boy like you

 **Yuuji:** WOAH SHOTS FIRED

 **Yuuji:** it’s ok you can fire shots at me anytime ;)

 **Daichi:** gross

 **Yuuji:** ;)

Koutarou spots him on campus. Daichi doesn’t see him, focusing in on his conversation with Hajime. He somehow doesn’t hear the thundering footsteps running up towards him, and misses the confused look on Hajime’s face when he sees the owl running at full-speed towards Daichi.

He doesn’t see or hear him, no – he gets the wind knocked out of him when Koutarou literally bear-hugs him in the middle of the school courtyard, nearly sending him toppling over.

Daichi notes, with mild annoyance, that Hajime took the initiative to step out of the way rather than warn him. He’s wearing a smirk, too.

“Daichi!” Koutarou laughs when he finally lets Daichi go, stumbling to his feet. “I heard! Congrats, man! That’s wicked!”

“Thanks, Kou,” Daichi laughs, having to steady himself using Hajime’s shoulder when his legs feel all wobbly.

“Hey!” Koutarou notices Hajime, offering him a crisp high-five, which Hajime takes. “I’m Koutarou! Yuuji’s roommate.”

“Hajime,” he says, nodding. “Good to meet you.”

Koutarou bounces, joining into their conversation so easily. It’s definitely a talent of his – he could make friends with The Scrooge, Daichi is sure of it.

“Hey, Koutarou. My boyfriend and I are having a party Friday; you’re welcome to come if you want.”

Koutarou lights up in the most adorable way. “Yeah! That’d be awesome! Tetsu will be so jealous, too.” He chuckles as he and Hajime exchange phone numbers, promising to text the details.

“I hope you’re ready for a shit show,” Daichi promises with a laugh.

* * *

Friday night comes faster than expected; Daichi is just finishing catching up with a blog he follows when the door knocks. It’s Yuuji’s typical three knocks, so he gets up to answer it without even looking through the peephole.

Yuuji is there to greet him, grinning. “I tried my best for ‘ruggedly handsome party boy who is totally not trying’. What do you think?”

Yuuji practically struts into Daichi’s apartment, laughter on his lips.

He’s wearing a pair of worn, ripped jeans, a washed-out shade of blue; they hug his thighs and hips. A black, fitted t-shirt adorns his torso, topped with a red and black plaid button-up that’s completely undone. His hair is brushed into place, looking effortless, and a pair of black converse complete the look.

“I think you nailed it.” Daichi laughs, stepping back to further admire it. Yuuji preens under the compliment.

“What are you going for? Athlete’s day off?” Yuuji chuckles, taking in Daichi’s sweatpants and t-shirt he’s obviously been wearing all day.

“Ah, right. Just give me five, okay?”

“Sure,” Yuuji nods. He steps into the apartment, following Daichi curiously. They step down the hall, right up to Daichi’s bedroom.

The owner of said bedroom pauses, looking back at Yuuji. He opens his mouth as if to say something but closes it, just walking in. “Come on in.”

Yuuji grins like he’s just got away with stealing a cookie out of the cookie jar. He strolls into Daichi’s room, flopping out on his bed. “What’re you gonna wear?”

“I don’t know; I can’t top that look of yours.”

Snorting, Yuuji rolls over on to his stomach; he kicks his legs in the air, propping his chin up on his hands so that he can better watch Daichi. “Wear your black jeans,” he instructs.

Daichi pulls a pair off his shelf, holding them up. “These?”

“Yeah.”

With a nod and only a slight blush, he strips out of his sweatpants. Slowly, taking his time, he walks over to his laundry bin to drop the sweatpants in there, before heading back to his closet to put on his jeans. _Torturously_ slow, knowing Yuuji is watching his every movement intently.

Yuuji clears his throat and speaks hoarsely. “Um, that white long-sleeve.” He points at a shirt hanging up, to which Daichi nods. He starts peeling off his shirt, but this time Yuuji drops his face against the bed, letting out a loud, tortured groan.

Daichi laughs, changing quickly. He grabs his phone and wallet, tapping Yuuji’s shoulder, who hasn’t moved from the bed. “I’m ready, let’s go.”

Yuuji grumbles something incoherent, but lifts his head. “Alright, alright. Let’s do this.”

They walk to the party; they know they’re going to drink, and dealing with having to get Daichi’s car in the morning will just be more trouble than its worth.

By the time they arrive it seems like most everyone who is coming is already there; the windows are all open to let in fresh air, and they can hear music pouring out – just quiet enough to not bother the neighbours, but loud enough to be heard.

They step in and are instantly swept up into the thick of it.

“Daichi!” Tooru is the first to greet them, grinning; it’s clear he’s already half in the bag. “And Yuuji! Come on in!” He ushers them inside, where they can see there’s already about two dozen people; thankfully they have a pretty big place.

They grab drinks and it takes all of five minutes for Yuuji to be pulled away by his friends, inducted into whatever games they decide to play.

Daichi joins Asahi in conversation while Yuuji gets pulled into a game of Truth or Dare by Yuu. All of Daichi’s friends get the chance to interrogate Yuuji, who, in turn, gets the chance to learn a lot more about Daichi, asking questions he hasn’t asked Daichi yet.

Yuu and Ryuu learn a lot about Yuuji, too; they check out his tongue piercing, asking him a barrage of questions about it. This prompts a discussion on piercings between Yuuji and Kentarou, who has his eyebrow pierced, and Tooru’s friend Keiji who also has a tongue piercing.

Keiji and Yuuji also discuss, more quietly, the extra-special _benefits_ of said tongue piercings; Keiji’s boyfriend Tadashi is reduced to a furiously blushing mess. Yuuji is very sure that he has made some very special new friends.

Yuuji joins Daichi when he participates in a game of _Cards Against Humanity_ , cuddling up behind him and resting his chin on Daichi’s shoulder. He whispers thoughts occasionally, arms wrapping around Daichi’s waist and just enjoying his warmth.

Koushi looks like he wants to fake-gag, but he can’t really talk when he’s got Tobio pressed up next to him, holding his hand. He’s clearly a little bit shy, nervously fidgeting next to Koushi, but he relaxes when Yuuji starts joking around with him. His light teasing is apparently enough to relax him when he barks back, prompting laughter from the blonde.

Koutarou shows up, mingling easily with the crowd, of which he knows half of apparently. He practically SnapChats the entire experience to his boyfriend who responds by sending selfies with all the weird filters back. Koutarou chuckles and shows them off proudly; those two are quite the pair, but a match that works better than Daichi would have ever imagined.

Pizza is ordered because, what else? And all games take a break for food. Daichi grabs a piece of Hawaiian pizza, flopping out on the couch next to Hajime, who is eating a slide of pepperoni.

Hajime lifts a brow, nodding to a spot behind Daichi. “I smell trouble.”

Daichi turns, halfway, just enough to see where he’s looking. He spots the potential problem almost immediately: Tooru and Yuuji are sitting next to each other. That in itself is not a problem, but the way that they’re hunched close together and giggling like they’re sharing a secret is incredibly suspicious.

“Not my circus, not my monkey.” Hajime shakes his head in denial.

“Hm, actually, this _is_ your circus and I’m pretty sure that’s your monkey.” Daichi smirks, to which Hajime just laughs.

“You’re right, but then that means that one belongs to you, right?”

Daichi fights down a blush. “Yeah, that’s right.”

Hajime nudges him and holds up his cup. “Congrats, man. Cheers.”

With a grin, Daichi taps his cup against Hajime’s.  “Cheers.”

The rest of the night turns out to be relaxing and a whole hell of a lot of fun.

Yuuji is a _ridiculous_ dancer, the only one agreeing to join him at first being a slightly-sloshed Shouyou. But he’s got such energy and soon enough he’s got everyone up and bouncing around. Even Tanaka breaks his no-dancing rule, aided by some tequila shots, and jumps up to go and wiggle next to Shouyou.

Daichi is comfortable just watching, enjoying it second-hand but Yuuji isn’t going to leave it at that. The blonde makes his way to Daichi, laughing, until he collapses right on top of him.

“Dance with me, Daichi?” He offers him his most innocent, pearly-white smile; it would be cute if not for the glint of his tongue ring poking out, making it a lot more sinful than intended.

Daichi purses his lips, scratching his chin as if deep in thought. Yuuji whines, squeezing his shoulders.

“Come on, just one song! Please?” Yuuji’s hands slide down his arms, their fingers pressing together as he steps back, slowly pulling Daichi up.

Daichi does not resist.

“I really like this song,” Yuuji says, smile on his face. “It makes me think of us.”

Yuuji is magnetic, and leads Daichi into a close dance, his arms slung around Daichi’s neck. He’s laughing, and Daichi is powerless to follow his lead.

_There's an energy, when you hold me, when you touch me_

_It's so powerful_

_I can feel it, when you hold me, when you touch me_

_It's so powerful_

_When you hold me in your arms, burns like fire and electricity_

_When you're close I feel the sparks, takes me higher to infinity_

 The best part, though, is the kiss he gets as a reward after the song is finished.

* * *

The evening wears on, and two games of _King’s Cup_ later, Yuuji is helping pry Shouyou off the deck where he _swears_ that he can stick the landing of the high railing to the ground below.

“Shou,” Yuuji says, grabbing the back of his shirt. “You know that you’ve got that tournament coming up next month? You can’t participate if your ankle is twisted. Remember what happened last year?

Shouyou whines, but relents; he jumps down onto the deck, wobbly. “Your team won by default!”

Yuuji snorts, shaking his head. “Whatever you’ve gotta tell yourself, bro.” He ruffles his hair to which Shouyou pouts, dodging his hand and escaping by flopping himself out on Tanaka’s lap.

Daichi laughs, walking up with fresh drinks. He hands Yuuji a beer, taking a long sip of his own. “How do you two know each other?”

“We were both in the school’s casual volleyball league last year,” Yuuji chuckles. “Shouyou got drunk and stupid at a party before a tournament and his team lost to mine.”

Daichi laughs, shaking his head. “He sounds just like Ryuu. Think they’re a good match?”

They both look over to where Shouyou is sitting in Ryuu’s lap, completely unbothered by the fact that they’re still very much in public. Ryuu’s hands are buried in Hinata’s bright orange hair, tugging him into place; their lips pressed together in a very messy kiss.

“If anyone can keep up with Shou, it’s gonna be him. You know… It looks like our friends intermingle more than we realized,” Yuuji laughs. He nudges Daichi with his foot, gesturing to where Kentarou and Kenma are curled up on the couch.

“You’re right. I can’t believe that you and Kenma are friends.”

Yuuji chuckles. “You aren’t the first to be surprised. Nerds gotta stick together, though, eh? Who else is gonna go out Pokemon hunting with me at three in the morning?”

“I guess. I didn’t know I was dating someone who’s such a nerd.” Daichi smirks, bringing his fresh beer to his lips; it’s cold and bitter. He takes a big sip, cooling himself off.

“I hope you’re ready to be inducted into geekdom, because, babe, I’ve got some seriously awesome shit to show you.” Yuuji’s smile lights up his entire face and Daichi can’t help but smile back, a chuckle falling from his lips.

Yuuji’s eyes are on him just as much as he’s watching Yuuji; the blonde’s face freezes and he reaches out, a thumb brushing across Daichi’s jawline. “Fuck, you are really beautiful, you know that?”

Daichi freezes, blushes, the pink tinge running down his neck. He can’t help the laughter that falls from his lips.

Yuuji looks at him quizzically. “What?”

“God, Koushi was right. We are so disgustingly cute and _so gay_.” He continues to laugh, hunching over and holding his stomach from it. “I was just thinking the same thing about you, Yuuji.”

The blush that creeps up Yuuji’s cheeks is bright enough to rival Daichi’s. “Just shut up and kiss me, you dork.”  He reaches out, grabbing the back of Daichi’s neck and pulls him in for a rough kiss.

Daichi laughs against his lips, wrapping his arms around Yuuji’s waist and tugging his hips in close. “I think it’s about time we get out of here, what do you think?”

Yuuji hums, pulling away. “Yeah, Daichi. I think that’s a great idea.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading. I just... am really emotional about this fic, and this pairing, and everything. I hope that you enjoyed reading this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it; I'm sure these dorks definitely deserved some time spent relaxing after all the shit they've gone through. This chapter took me a little longer than expected to finish, but I sincerely hope that it was worth the wait.
> 
> Thank you _so much_ to everyone who has been following this fic! Your comments help motivate me to keep improving and writing better and better. Every time that I see one of your comments I just squeal and get so happy, you don't even know. ♥♥
> 
> Just a few notes on this chapter:  
> \- Because I probably won't get to mention this later on, if you're curious as to what Tooru and Yuuji were talking about, I headcanon that Tooru sends Hajime tons of selfies on SnapChat and Hajime, the sentimental dork that he is, screenshots them. He has no idea that there is a screenshot notification and so Tooru is secretly just so happy about it, and he shared that with Yuuji because there's no way Daichi would realize that there's a notification about it so he can do the same thing! ;)  
> \- Hajime/Koutarou friendship is one of my favourites; I really just had to sneak that one in there haha.  
> \- The song mentioned is _Powerful_ by Major Lazer ft. Ellie Goulding  & Tarrus Riley. It's one of the songs featured on my TeruDai playlist and I love it for them.  
> \- I think now I've mentioned... 6 rarepairs? Can you count all the rarepairs? ;)  
> \- Yes those black jeans are Daichi's SEXY JEANS okay in a sea of sweatpants, he's got some nice ass-hugging jeans ;0


	14. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It’s been a year and a half since he admitted what happened to him. A year and a half of ups and downs, a year and a half since _Daichi_...

It’s a perfect day.

The sun is shining brightly high up in the sky. There isn’t a cloud in sight, but a soft breeze blowing keeps the temperature from climbing too high. The late-afternoon lull has the town quiet, the only people milling about being college students celebrating their newfound freedom from classes.

Yuuji feels about one hundred pounds lighter.

He steps out of the courtroom, a sigh escaping his lips.

He’s finally done it.

After everything – after all the shit, after this hell of a year and a half with meetings with lawyers and court dates and  _ rescheduling _ and visiting his father in prison while he awaited trial – the verdict is in.

He’s not going to have to see him again for quite some time. More than that, though, is that he knows his brother is safe.

All of the emotions are overwhelming, but he’s taking it in stride. He’s not bottling it up anymore; he’s letting himself feel what he needs to, and reaching out to his friends for support, just in the same way that he supports all of them.

It’s been a year and a half since he admitted what happened to him. A year and a half of ups and downs, a year and a half since  _ Daichi _ … He swallows, smile brimming his face at the thought of his boyfriend. His  _ boyfriend _ . Pulling out his phone, he looks for a call from his ride home, and-

“Yuuji?”

Turning, Yuuji’s eyes rest on the person calling his name. He’s a bit shorter, with a gentle face and shaggy brown hair. He looks at Yuuji with soft almond eyes. They look very similar – the same expression, the same olive skin…

“Hey, Daiki.” Yuuji offers his younger brother a smile. “How do you feel?”

Daiki shrugs his shoulders, looking up at the blue sky. “I dunno. Good, but also sad, if that makes sense?”

He gets a nod in response. “Yeah, I know what you mean.” Yuuji sighs. “But it’s done now, you know? I feel good about that. Really good.” His grin turns a little cheeky as he chuckles, shoving his hands in his pockets.

“Hey, Yuuji?”

“Mhm?” He glances up and meets his brothers gaze.

“You’re not gonna… shut me out again, right? I don’t wanna go back to that. I want us to keep talking. I want to be with my family.” He looks earnest, and Yuuji is suddenly hit with the stark realization that his brother is only  _ just barely  _ an adult. Only just leaving high school and he  _ needs _ him. That makes something warm bloom in his chest.

“No, I won’t. Besides, if not for me who’s gonna teach you all the shit you need to know about college?” He chuckles, ruffling his hair. His brother groans and tries to push him away, resulting in laughter. “Seriously, though – Daiki. I’m gonna always be there for you, so if you need me, just call. Alright?”

Daiki nods, a smile brightening his face. “Yeah, okay. You got it, Yuuji.”

The blonde pulls his brother into a hug, squeezing him tight and ignoring his protests. “I love you, you know that, right, kid?”

A grunt is what he gets in response as Daiki struggles in the hug, but it’s all in jest. “Yeah, yeah. I love you too, I guess.” He laughs, sticking out his tongue.

After Yuuji gets a satisfying hug, he releases his brother. He nods in the distance, where he can see his aunt waiting for Daiki. “You’d better go, looks like your ride is waiting. If we wait any longer she’s gonna come back here and tell me how my piercings give me the  _ misguided appearance _ of a delinquent.” He snorts, sticking out his tongue to show off said piercing.

“She doesn’t know about the tattoo, right?” Daiki raises an eyebrow, crossing his arms.

“No, and we should probably keep it that way.” Yuuji grins as they say their goodbyes, Daiki walking off to head home.

But these goodbyes are not final. He says them knowing that they’ll stay in contact this time – he’s going to make an effort and, more than anything, he  _ wants  _ to be in Daiki’s life. So badly. He has four years missed to make up for, after all.

He watches Daiki leave, disappearing into a blue SUV before he pulls out his phone to check and see if his ride’s here. He’s pulling up the contacts, and-

“YUUJI!”

He whips around just in time to be tackled in a big bear-hug, laughter hitting his ears. He  _ just barely _ keeps himself from falling over, stumbling to steady himself.

“Kou!” He laughs, wrapping his arms around his best friend and squeezing. He’s been doing that a lot lately – the whole hugging thing – and frankly, he can see why Koutarou is so into it. “Thanks for coming to get me, man.”

“Of course!” He grins, pulling Yuuji back towards his car. His  _ new _ car, that he’s spent time fixing up with his dad (and convincing Yuuji to spend three full weekends helping build) now that he finally has his full license. “We’ve gotta hurry if we’re going to make it on time!”

“On time? Please, they’ll wait for me.” Yuuji chuckles, but he slips into the passenger seat, buckling up. “I  _ am _ one of the graduating class, of course!”

A lot has changed in the past year and a half.

He and Daichi pass their mutual class, of course, and make it through that time together.

They spend every moment that summer that they possibly can together. Any moment where Yuuji isn’t waiting tables in what feels like the busiest Chinese food restaurant in town; any moment where Daichi isn’t busy bagging groceries and chasing after the most annoying co-workers ever (Koutarou and Tetsurou, who moves in with Koutarou and Yuuji over the summer). It’s exhausting as they take every shift they can get their mitts on, but they need the money and the prospect of graduating without student debt is enticing.

Of course, there are fights. When Yuuji is being insensitive, or when Daichi is being distant. When they’re both exhausted from working and snappy with each other. When nobody wants to cook and  _ no, I did the dishes last time _ .

They’re not perfect – but what they are is together. Yeah, there are still nights when Yuuji can’t sleep, tossing and turning until he retreats on the couch. He’s never alone for long, Daichi joining him and cuddling on his lap, putting on a movie until they both fall asleep. There’s nights when Daichi wakes up from a nightmare, unable to calm down until Yuuji rubs his back comfortingly and nuzzles his cheek. They work through it, though, all the tough shit, making up for nights spent apart with hushed apologies and rushed kisses, hands holding together for dear life.

After that summer it’s their last year of college, which means more classes and more homework and  _ more, more, more _ . It also means more time worked together, whenever they can; curled up together while studying for midterms, or working on their homework assignments while they sit together for a coffee date. Moments stolen whenever possible.

Yuuji has never really seen himself as the kind of guy to thrive so much with being in a relationship. He never thought it was for him – he used to make fun of those kinds of people. But the way that things are with Daichi? It’s more than he ever could have imagined. He loves being able to have someone to relax and unwind with, to share things with and be close to. He also seems to be the only person who can get Daichi wound up and drag out that competitive side to him; but also someone Daichi can rely on, someone he doesn’t have to be strong and put up a front with.

God, even sex feels better when it’s with someone that he cares about. He could go on and on about all the new things Daichi has taught him – and all the ways that Daichi has enjoyed  _ him _ , in turn, but he figures that’s something better kept as a secret between lovers.

He feels like a lovesick teenager, but just the thought of Daichi makes his stomach flip.

He’s nervous about their potential future together; nervous, but also excited. Here he is, just days after his official graduation ceremony, on his way to celebrate said graduation with his friends.

When registering for college, he never really thought about what his life would be like  _ after _ .

He’s still not sure, honestly – all that he knows is that his future has to include Daichi. He’s going to do whatever he has to in order to make that future a reality.

He bites his lip, letting out a soft sigh.

“Dude, don’t think so hard, you’re gonna hurt your brain.” Koutarou side-eyes him from the driver’s seat, snorting a little bit.

“You are the one person who does not get to say that to me.” Yuuji tries to be serious, he really does, but the end comes out as a choked laugh. “Was he on edge most of the day?” Yuuji knows that Daichi, although he won’t admit it, gets really bad nerves when he’s worried. He hopes that he was able to enjoy spending time with his friends who are visiting.

“No. He was pretty calm.” Koutarou smiles, “he told me, and I quote,  _ ‘Yuuji can handle this on his own _ ’.”

Naturally, Daichi had wanted to be there for him; he wanted to come with him to the courthouse, but Yuuji didn’t want that. This was something that he needed to do on his own. So even though it hurt, even though it was hard, even though he’s sure that Daichi was worried – even if he didn’t show it -  he let Yuuji go alone.

And that trust alone was enough to make Yuuji’s heart swell with affection.

“Good.” He smiles, leaning forward in the seat.

Thankfully the drive isn’t long, and soon enough they’re pulling into the driveway of Yuu’s house; he and Tanaka have the biggest property, so it was unanimously voted that they would host the party.

And,  _ somehow _ , they got out of hosting parties for the entire year. This one was going to be a pretty easy one, too; a chunk of people were already gone for the summer, either on trips or visiting with their families, so it was only going to be a small gathering with friends.

Koutarou ushers him inside and Yuuji isn’t expecting what he’s greeted with. As soon as the door opens, he’s hit with the sound of loud talking, music and  _ laughter _ .

He steps out of his shoes; Koutarou dashes into the house ahead of him. Tetsurou meets him in the hallway, pulling him into a dramatic hug and spinning him around. The consensus in the room is mild disgust as it’s been maybe an hour since they’ve seen each other, but something about those two is just so damn cute.

Yuuji heads down the hallway, too, to join everyone in the living room. He doesn’t get far though as a figure steps out of the kitchen first, hands grabbing Yuuji’s waist and pulling him in.

Yuuji laughs, stumbling, but he’s met with a warm embrace as Daichi pulls him back against his chest. Yuuji recognizes the scent and feel of him immediately; it all as familiar to him as the back of his hand. Because he’s facing away from Daichi, all he can do is bring up his hands to wrap around Daichi’s, squeezing his fingers.

“Yuuji,” Daichi says lowly, nuzzling the back of his head. “You’re here.”

“I’m here,” he notes, with a small chuckle. “Was there any doubt?”

Daichi shakes his head, inhaling. “No, but it still makes my heart jump when you do.”

“Cheesy.”

“Always. Haven’t you learned that by now?” Daichi has long gotten over his embarrassment of being cheesy and romantic; nothing bothers him anymore, and he has no problems with voicing his affections for Yuuji. Whether it’s telling him that he looks nice, or reminding him that he cares about him when Yuuji is up studying late, it always makes Yuuji blush and return his affections – typically more physically, as words are harder for Yuuji.

For Daichi, though, it makes voicing his praises in bed a lot easier, too.  

Yuuji hums in response, wiggling until he’s able to turn himself in Daichi’s embrace. He presses their lips close together, leaving but the tiniest bit of space. “Thank you, Daichi.” He kisses him softly.

Daichi kisses him back, one hand leaving Yuuji’s lower back to cup his cheek. He pulls away to ask, “for what?”

Now that’s a loaded question.

For caring about him?

For trusting him?

For giving so much, and being patient about getting it in return?

For opening him up to a world he never would have thought existed?

For opening up  _ to him _ and showing Yuuji that he is a person  _ worth _ trusting?

For being Yuuji’s literal Favourite Person on the Planet and just generally an amazing friend?

Yuuji can’t decide, so he settles with a simple, “everything.” He punctuates that with a kiss, squeezing his boyfriend. Their lips meet like they were made for this; and honestly, Yuuji is pretty convinced that he was.

Daichi blushes, pulling away after a few moments of heated kissing. “Come on; some of my old friends from high school are here. I’d love for you to meet them.”

A nod and a grin later and they’re heading into the living room, hand in hand.

He’s greeted with the sight of so many familiar faces and quite a few new ones. But he doesn’t feel the same anxiousness that he would have felt before at facing this; no, he’s calm. Yuuji walks in with a smile on his face.

Koushi is there first, pulling Yuuji away from Daichi and into a hug. He laughs, squeezing him a little extra tight for good measure. “Yuuji! Hey.” He pulls away, grinning; his smile says everything that his voice doesn’t –  _ I’m proud of you. _

“Koushi, hey!” He smiles, turning his attention around the room to greet the familiar faces. Tetsurou smacks him on the arm in greeting, Yuu and Ryuu toss him a can of root beer (no alcohol tonight – he wants to stay sober for this – thankfully, they remembered). Tooru and Hajime pull him out in the backyard, where they are all heading to get some fresh air and more space. He’s tasked to help set up the barbecue and meet a few people from their high school.

Once out in the fresh air, Hajime slings his arm around Yuuji’s shoulder to direct him to some of the new faces in the crowd. “Yuuji, this is Kei, and Akira. Akira and I went to the same school.” He points his attention to a tall, salty-looking blonde kid with glasses and a guy attached to his arm, looking tired.

“Hey!” Yuuji grins, “Nice to meet you.” He grins, meeting a few other new faces – Shigeru and Kenji, before mingling with his friends. He compares Pokémon caught on Pokémon Go with Kenma – showing Kyoutani the Arcanine that he named  _ Kentarou _ – and dodges the punch thrown at his shoulder, hiding behind Kenma who calms him with just a simple look. In the end, it’s cool, because Arcanine is a pretty cool Pokémon anyway.

He and Tooru discuss their thoughts on the newest  _ Star Wars _ film, and possible meanings for this in future films. They have a heated debate with Tobio, who apparently just wants to play devil’s advocate or piss off Tooru – maybe a bit of both. It’s hard to tell.

Yuu and Ryuu have a ‘who can eat the most skittles’ contest. Shouyou wins as the dark horse in the competition when he proves to have a much higher tolerance than any of them for the sour candies. He wins ‘bragging rights’, which Yuuji is pretty sure is a code for something between Ryuu and Shouyou but he does  _ not _ want to know the details.

He’s talking to Asahi (who is still a little low-key nervous around him, Yuuji notes, not that it bothers him) when Daichi worms his way to his side again, hand sliding to rest on his lower back. Yuuji shivers, smiling, turning his head to press a kiss on Daichi’s cheek before turning his attention back to Asahi.

“So Asahi, did you know that Yuuji got a tattoo?” Daichi grins and Asahi turns his attention to Yuuji. He uses this time to slip his hand under the hem of Yuuji’s shirt. He splays his fingers out on his lower back, the touches electric on Yuuji’s bare skin.

“A tattoo? No, I didn’t.” Asahi smiles as Yuuji scratches the back of his head.

“Yeah, I got it a little while ago? I mean, it’s not  _ done _ yet but I really like it.” He flashes his pearly whites before adding on, “Daichi was talking about getting one, too.”

“Oh  _ really _ ?” Now Asahi turns his attention on Daichi, who pushes his fingertips into the muscles on Yuuji’s lower back. It feels good, but Yuuji knows it’s supposed to be Daichi’s way of showing his annoyance at the shift of attention so he tries to not make it obvious how relaxed he is in case he decides to stop what he’s doing. He doesn’t – instead, he starts to press his fingers in a circular motion.

“Yeah,” Daichi nods. “I just need to figure out the design, but, Yuuji said he’d help me. He’s pretty good at that, actually.”

Asahi nods, “that’s really cool, actually. Where did you get it done?”

“That place down on Sixth?”

“Oh! That’s where Wakatoshi is starting his apprenticeship. He said that when he’s finished, he’ll do mine.”

“Really?  _ You _ , Asahi Azumane, with a tattoo?” Daichi laughs, “You’ll finally have a reason for that bad boy, delinquent image.”

Asahi blushes, but Yuuji just grins and claps him on the back. “Delinquents gotta stick together, right?”

He gets a chuckle and a nod in response. “It wont be for a while yet, though! Wakatoshi just started, and he’s very serious about it.”

“Wakatoshi, serious? No way. Slap me with bread and call me a sandwich.” Daichi does his best to sound serious. He chuckles, and Asahi looks like he’s about ready to roll his eyes.

“Wow, nice one, Dai.” Yuuji chuckles and offers him a crisp high-five. Daichi accepts.

“Is he gonna be joining us?” Daichi asks.

“No, he’s got a family thing to go to this weekend.” Asahi shrugs, but the way that he checks his phone throughout the night shows how much he misses him.

“Food’s up!” Hajime yells from his spot by the barbecue – as unanimously named best barbecuer, it’s his job to man it. Tooru flits in and out, putting food out on one of the few tables set up; he puts Shouyou and Yuu to work too, who make a race as to who can put out the most food.

“Don’t drop anything!” Koushi warns, letting Tobio go when he wants to join in on the competition. With the three of them racing it takes absolutely no time before the food is all out; Hajime gets the last of the burgers off the grill, piling them up.

“Alright, let’s eat.” Daichi grins and the group descends.

Yuuji takes his time, waiting until almost everyone has already gotten theirs. He watches Daichi squabble with Koutarou over a piece of meat and laughs; Koushi walks over, shaking his head.

“You know, sometimes I don’t believe that we’re all graduated now.” Koushi chuckles.

“I know. It’s a really weird feeling.”

Koushi hums. “Have you decided what you’re going to do after the summer?”

It’s a question that’s been plaguging Yuuji for the better part of this year, when he realized that as soon as he graduated that this gentle coasting would come to an abrupt end. He’s enjoying this; he doesn’t have to think too hard or make tough life choices and Daichi is  _ right there _ . Now, though, the world is completely open to him – it’s a freeing experience, but ultimately it’s unbelievably terrifying.

“I’ve been thinking about it…” He shifts his weight from one foot to the other. “I’ve gotten two job offers so far.”

“Oh yeah? What kind of offers?”

“One as a lab tech, but I’d have to move about two hours away to the city to do it… and another in financing. It’s a company that Kazuma’s mom works at, so, she kind of got me an in.” Yuuji sighs softly, looking over at Koushi.

“How do you feel about them?”

“Honestly? I’m really not sure. Both of them are good opportunities, but…” He looks away, over to the group of people and then back at Koushi. “I kind of… want to follow him, you know? I realize that probably is stupid, I mean – we’re so young, anything can happen – but… that’s what makes me happy. I want to, more than anything, help him achieve  _ his _ dream.”

Daichi is the one with the plan, with the goal in mind for coming to school. He’s spent hours going over paperwork, researching, surveying – he wants to open up his own shop and Yuuji can’t help but admire his dedication and hard work. Daichi has a location in mind and everything, too; and if he stays in town, Yuuji knows that it will bring him closer to not only Daichi, but his brother.

And after all this time – family is what he really wants to focus on.

A nod and a smile follow as Koushi runs a hand through his silver locks. “You can do that, Yuuji. You’re allowed to – hell, more than that you’re  _ qualified _ to. I know he hasn’t asked, but… he doesn’t want to pressure you or make you feel like you  _ have  _ to do this, so he isn’t saying anything. Just talk to him, alright?”

Yuuji nods as the table clears. He jerks his head towards it, “come on, let’s eat.”

Koushi follows him and they fill their plates, stretching out on the grass to eat. Yuuji slumps down on the grass next to Koutarou to steal some of his french fries – he snorts, smirking at Daichi.

It’s easy, it’s relaxing, it’s just what Yuuji likes – how did he go so long without this?

Once most everyone has finished eating, they throw out their trash and relax out in the backyard. They toss around a volleyball, tell jokes and play games.

It doesn’t take long until Ryuu decides to have a contest of ‘who can bounce the volleyball the longest’. Everyone is shocked when Tooru proves to be the winner, declaring loudly that now that he’s won Yuu and Ryuu owe him  _ again _ . They both sigh in unison.

Yuuji doesn’t even notice when the sun begins to set – he doesn’t realize how late it has gotten until after they’ve lit tiny fireworks, illuminating the backyard with bright colours. He loves the way that the lights bounce off the trees, and the people; he loves the way that it illuminates Daichi’s face, and his smile.

Yuuji yawns leaning on Daichi for support. He’s not the only one feeling the exhaustion of the day – the sun, the playing around, it’s getting to everyone. Tooru whines and Hajime gives him a piggyback ride, waving their goodbyes as they head home.

“Anyone who just wants to stay here, the backyard is yours.” Ryuu yawns loudly, waving a goodbye as he treks upstairs – Shouyou hot on his heels. In preparation for this because, as Daichi puts it, everyone always ‘gets lazy and doesn’t want to go home’, they have a pile of sleeping bags in the shed that Yuu pulls out and starts flinging around.

“Wanna stay?” Daichi asks, not relinquishing his hold on Yuuji. The blonde nods; he’s tired and comfortable. He likes his time alone with Daichi, sure, but he’s not sure when the next time is that he’ll get to spend time with so many of his friends all together like this.

“I’ll grab us something to sleep on, then.” Daichi squeezes him once more before letting go and rising up. He heads off, and Yuuji turns over to see Koutarou rolling towards him.

“Wow, Kou, what are you, a mackerel roll?” Yuuji quirks a brow as his best friend rolls right into him, stopping with a soft  _ oof _ .

“Yeah, well, getting up is hard. I’m full and sleeeepy!”

Yuuji chuckles, “fair, then go sleep with your boyfriend.” He pauses before adding, “I mean that literally.”

“I am, I am. I just wanted to tell you goodnight.” He breathes in and out, his eyes closed. “And Yuuj?”

“Yeah, Kou?”

“I’m proud of you. I’m so happy we’re best friends.” He reaches his arms up, wiggling them around; Yuuji huffs as if annoyed but indulges him in a hug anyway.

“You’re such a sap.”

“I know, I know! It’s graduation! I’m emotional OKAY?” Koutarou snorts in laughter. Daichi returns, looking at them curiously and Koutarou salutes him. “Good night kind sir.”

With that, he rolls away, back towards where Tetsurou is putting out some sleeping bags for them.

Daichi lets out a breath and shakes his head. “I’m not gonna ask.”

“Wise move.” Yuuji waits and watches while Daichi lays out their sleeping bag. He’s happy that he picked one that’s blanket style, rather than a cocoon – this way they can both fit in and snuggle.

Once they’ve been laid down, Yuuji kicks off his shoes, socks, and strips off his sweater. He climbs into the sleeping bag, wiggling to get comfortable as Daichi crawls in next to him.

In approximately 0.5 seconds, they’re cuddling. Yuuji hugs Daichi’s middle, his face buried against Daichi’s chest. His boyfriend holds him strong, humming contentedly when Yuuji’s fingers trace up and down his side. It’s a position that is so familiar to them – Yuuji always sleeps best when surrounded by Daichi’s warmth, and Daichi gets his most restful sleeps when he’s got Yuuji to hold on to.

They relax, looking up and watching the stars; for still being in the city they still have a nice view of them. Yuuji listens as Daichi points out the constellations that he recognizes, making up names for patterns that he sees.

It doesn’t take long for them to start to drift off. Yuuji blinks himself awake, remembering the promise he’d made to himself. There is something that he  _ has  _ to do. He’s put it off long enough – it’s time that Daichi knows.

"Daichi," Yuuji whispers as the group is getting quieter, being overtaken by the need to sleep. He gently pulls himself from Daichi’s embrace, propping himself up so that he can see his face; Daichi blinks sleepily. The only sounds are their soft breaths, hushed whispers and the shifting of sleeping bags. "Daichi, I…” he swallows, “I love you."

He breathes in and then out; god, it feels so  _ good _ to say. It’s like a weight has been lifted. He’s wanted to say it for so long – he’s known he’s loved Daichi since the moment they got together, from that very first night that they kissed. He’s always known.

Yuuji closes his eyes but feels Daichi stir and he knows he’s awake. He quickly tacks on, "I don't want you to feel like you have to say it back. You don't. I just… I just really wanted you to know."

With a smile and a soft kiss on Daichi’s lips, Yuuji tucks his head down just below Daichi's chin, snuggling up against him. He curls his arms against his body and shifts until he’s comfortable. His boyfriend is quiet, saying nothing, just pressing soft kisses to the top of Yuuji’s head once he’s settled. His arms slide around Yuuji’s middle, squeezing him and holding him close.

"I love you too, Yuuji," he whispers quietly. His hug tightens around him and Yuuji is warm, and safe in this loving embrace.

And he’s honestly sure that there’s nowhere else he’d rather be. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to every who has been reading from the start, to those who have joined us mid-way, and to those who have started reading once the story has completed! This has been one of the most fulfilling things I've written and I couldn't have done it without all of you. Thank you to everyone who has left kudos and viewed my story, but a special thanks to: cwtsh, bone_colored, Aeshiryzen, shittygomu, princessofdisaster, Knight, AlizarinTheNotsoGreat, IceXChaos12, TheOtakuSupreme and of course Frenchibi, for your continued comments - you kept me motivated and writing! Thank YOU to anyone else who even left a single comment - I treasure every one!
> 
> I am not done with Terushima and Daichi - not by a long-shot! I am toying with many one-shot ideas as well as potential ideas for a future fic with them. If you have any suggestions, please let me know! 
> 
> I'd love to hear what you think of the fic! Thank you, again. This has been a pleasure to write, and I hope you've enjoyed reading it as muc as I've enjoyed bringing it to life! :)

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [The Fall](https://archiveofourown.org/works/7992961) by [Frenchibi](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Frenchibi/pseuds/Frenchibi)




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